


Blue Diamonds

by asgardiandrums



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Clint and Nat also have a baby, Dark!Loki, Established Relationship, Flashbacks, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Its not your standard everyday mpreg, Kind of Captain America 2 compliant, Kind of Thor 2 compliant, M/M, Mpreg, bare with me in this it's going good places, for both pairings, i really like dark messed up characters ok I'm not even sorry anymore, kind of Iron Man 3 compliant, little bit of Dark!Tony, maybe some smut, plot twist ending, the tesseract is living, the tesseract really fucked Loki up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-05
Updated: 2014-12-31
Packaged: 2018-01-22 00:27:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 23
Words: 39,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1569272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asgardiandrums/pseuds/asgardiandrums
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is the story of a God and how things turned out as they shouldn't have. He thought things had changed, he thought he was was safe. He thought he had everything planned out. It was never supposed to end like this. It was never supposed to be so... blue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Big Announcement

**Author's Note:**

> I stared writing this because I needed to. For reasons I can't really explain but I'm not going to complain because it broke my yearish long writers block :D
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> P.S. keep an eye on the tags. There'll be new ones coming up with later chapters. There may be some trigger warnings.
> 
> P.S.S. (as of 8/12/14) I changed the bio on this story because it's going places I hadn't originally planned but I love the new direction >:D

It was just a normal night in the Avengers tower. Thor, Tony, and Bruce lounged on the couches in the rec room watching TV. Nat and Clint sat at the table in the corner playing Death Stare Poker, and Cap was polishing his shield. 

"So Bruce," Tony said, popping pop corn in his mouth. "You gunna ask Betty out yet?" 

You could almost hear Bruce roll his eyes. "I told you. What we had is over." 

Tony shrugged and popped popcorn into his mouth. "You never know." 

"Tony, no," Bruce was clearly done with this conversation.

"Fine."

There was a peaceful quiet that settled among the group after that. The only sounds to be heard were the chewing of popcorn kernels, the sounds of the TV, and Cap's polish squeaking across the metal. The silence was interrupted by a bing from Tony's phone. 

'Tony. I need to talk to you.' his phone read. 

'Not now, Lokes. The movie is just getting good.' Tony typed back. 

Bruce gave Tony a look (which he noticed but ignored), as Tony shoved his phone back in his pocket. The door to the rec room opened a few minutes later. Loki walked in and dropped a piece of paper on Tony's lap. 

"I'm pregnant," was all Loki said as he plopped himself between Thor and Tony. 

Tony choked on a popcorn kernel or two, Thor and Bruce burst into laughter, Cap's hand slipped and the shield went spinning onto the floor, and Clint and Natasha's hands fell onto the table, revealing all of their cards. Not that it mattered because they were all staring at Tony and Loki now. 

"You're what?!" Tony squeaked. 

"Pregnant. Yeah I know, it freaked me out too. After an impromptu visit from my mother, we realized that because I am truly Jöuten, I possess the ability to have a child." Loki explained, digging into the popcorn. 

Thor stopped laughing and became very serious. "Mother was here?"

"Yes, did you not see the bright light?" Loki asked. 

Thor motioned to the TV. "I was busy." 

Loki sighed, and dug his hand into Tony's bowl. 

Tony just stared at his lover with wide eyes as the gears in his head churned. 

"So wait let me get this straight," Clint began, flipping his cards upside down. "You're actually a woman?" 

"No, I'm very much a man. Jöutens have both parts, if you will. What ever you identify with is what you are, but you can still become pregnant if you are a man." Loki explained to the Hawk. 

"What my brother says is true," Thor confirmed. "I had never thought about it until now, however, that you could possibly bare a child." 

"Neither did I," Loki muttered. 

"How far along are you?" Natasha asked with interest. "

"3 weeks? A month maybe, mother wasn't very specific." 

"When did you suspect?" Tony asked in a small voice. 

Everyone's attention shifted to Tony, who'd been staring at the letter from Frigga. Tony looked up at Loki and waited for an answer. 

"I didn't, honestly. Hiemdal had told my mother that she might want to have a talk with me," Loki told him truthfully. "I mean, I would've suspected eventually." 

"The Asgardian gatekeeper saw us?!" Tony squeaked again. 

"We heard you," Clint muttered under his breath. Nat kicked him under the table. 

Thor chuckled lightly. "Hiemdal does not watch. He mearly knows what's happening in people's lives." 

Tony was still baffled, while Loki looked completely at ease with the fact that him and Tony would be expected a bouncing bundle of fun in 9 months. Would it even be 9 months? Would it be less? More? Would Loki have to change forms during the duration of his pregnancy? Would that mess with him psychologically? Tony had so many unanswered questions, he started to have an anxiety attack. Loki noticed right away and jumped to attention. 

"Breathe. Shhh. Breathe, just breathe, Anthony. I'm the one who's supposed to be panicking, not you," Loki lightly joked. 

Cap spoke up for the first time since Loki's announcement. "Let's give them some space, guys." 

Thor and Bruce nodded in agreement with Cap, and the avengers got up and left the room. 

Natasha was the last one out when she offered a "Congratulations" over her shoulder. Loki smiled at her, as she walked out.


	2. Promise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im going to try and write a chapter per day and update as i go (big thanks to my lovely friend for editing my mistakes [forgofamily on tumblr]). Normally i don't update everyday, but this fic is something special so wish me luck!!
> 
> enjoy :D

Tony tried to calm his mind from spinning out of control. He couldn't meet Loki's eyes, because he knew he would find hurt there. Hurt because Tony's initial reaction was shock and terror not shock and awe. It also wasn't that Tony was upset or unhappy. He just never saw himself having a child, much less with Loki. He didn't want to turn into his father. He didn't want Loki to turn into Odin either. That was a problem. The pair had daddy issues that could fill a book. Maybe everything would be ok. Maybe they could do it right. But what if the child was Jötun in appearance? Would he be blue with green eyes or Tony's skin color with red eyes? There were too many questions. Tony couldn't breathe. 

"Tony?" Loki asked, rubbing his back. 

Tony tried so hard to breathe and calm down. He couldn't look up.

Loki laughed lightly. "Next time, you should come when I request."

Tony smiled a little. He forced himself to look at Loki. He was still the same dark haired god he'd always been. He didn't even look pregnant. Was this a sick joke?

Loki took both of Tony's hands in his, and looked Tony in the eye. "Are you ok?"

Tony shook his head yes, then no, then yes. He just shrugged his shoulders he had no idea what he was feeling. 

"I just need some time to process this," Tony told the god.

"That's understandable," Loki told him. "Mother assures me that everything will be fine."

Tony nodded his head again and looked down at his feet. Loki grabbed his chin and forced him to look him in the eyes.

"What plagues your mind?" he inquired.

"A lot," Tony confessed, letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "I have so many questions."

Loki smiled at Tony, and pulled him into a comforting hug. "I can imagine so, Lovely. Mother said she would try to answer any questions we might have."

Tony nodded again, relaxing against Loki. Loki pulled them apart and looked at Tony with a serious face.

"I just need to know," he began. "Are you with me? Will you stick with me through this? I need to know now because I don't want to wake up one morning and find you've had a change of heart."

Tony went to say something but Loki held up a finger.

"You know how much trust I put in you, to keep them off my back, when I first came here. I only ask that you return the favor," Loki finished, eyes cold, ready to put walls up.

Tony looked Loki dead in the eye. "Yes, I need time to process the shock. But I won't leave. I won't leave because I refuse to put that child through what we went through. If we hit any bumps in the road, we will work through it, because I want this to work. I need a little domestic normality to counter the Avenger insanity." Tony assured his lover.

Loki laughed, relieved. "Having a child with a god isn't what most people define as 'Domestic Normality'."

Tony smiled. "When have I ever let a definition define me?"

Loki took a moment to think about that. While lost in his momentary thought, Tony snuck a kiss. One of promise. 

They had a long life ahead of them.


	3. Whispers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter's mostly The Avengers. there's a little bit of Tony/Loki at the end, but i felt like the team needed to talk about what went down.
> 
> Enjoy :)

The remaining avengers walked into the living room/Kitchenette on the same floor as the rec room. Clint spread out on the couch, forcing Natasha to sit on the arm of the couch. Cap, Thor, and Bruce sat in the arm chairs. They sat in silence for a while, trying to see if they could hear anything. All they heard were cars passing from the street below them.

Cap spoke up first. "We should tell Fury."

Thor's eyes flared up in alarm. "Why?"

"So he knows Loki will no longer be a threat. He's having Tony's child. Maternal instincts are going to kick in... right?" Cap was trying to logically wrap his mind around this.

"There was a time when my brother was caring. After the destruction of the Bifrost, I thought that part of him was gone. It might resurface, but that may be wishful thinking," Thor grumbled.

"Well you see the way he is with Tony," Clint chimed in. "It's like he's a whole other god."

"That's because Loki has never had anyone to call his own... until now," Thor explained. "He had to share mother's love with me. He shared a lot of Asgard with me..." Thor trailed off, thinking about his past.

"I still think Fury should know," Cap said, nodding his head.

"I would not deem it wise, Patriotic Captain," Thor advised.

While Cap and Thor talked about what to do, and what was right, Natasha sat on the arm of the couch, lost in thought. She was unconsciously rubbing her stomach, when Clint looked up and bumped her arm. 

"You ok?" he asked.

She have him a fake smile. "Yeah I'm good."

Clint nodded, knowing she wasn't but he wouldn't get anything out of her. He turned back to the conversation at hand.

"If Fury knows, then Odin will know, that will cause trouble for Loki, am I correct?" Bruce chimed in.

"I am not sure how my father will handle the news. He could either not care, or subject Loki to testing which wouldn't be good for him or the child," Thor told the group. "Hiemdal is under orders from the queen to not speak of this to anyone on Asgard except for her."

"You're dad's a dick, for the record," Clint said, looking at Thor.

"I do not condone what my father does," Thor told his friends.

"I don't think Fury should know yet," Natasha spoke up, her gaze far away as she still rubbed her stomach. "I think when we have more answers, he should know. I also think Tony and Loki should be the one to tell Fury. Until then, we should just support their decision."

Natasha got up and walked away, leaving the group stunned at her outburst. Bruce looked at Clint, who shrugged and followed Nat out of the room.

"This day has been interesting," Cap said, leaning back in his chair, drumming his fingers on the arms.

Thor was hunched over, arms on his thighs and palms on his face, when the realization hit him. "I'm going to be an uncle!" His smile lit up his whole face. "I'll have a little niece or nephew to do things with! I could teach them to fight, or show them around Asgard! THIS IS GOING TO BE GREAT!!!" Thor boomed, jumping to his feet and racing off to his room.

Bruce watched him leave in shock. "I was certainly not expecting that outburst."

Cap laughed. "Thor's a big puppy on the inside. He'll make a great uncle."

Bruce nodded, getting up to grab a drink from the fridge. "You want anything?" 

Cap waved the offer off, thinking.

"I'll have a double of whatever you're pouring," Tony's voice came from the hall into the kitchenette.

"Make that two," Loki's voice said.

Bruce saw the pair enter, and Tony swatted at Loki's shoulder.

"No! No drinking while you're pregnant!" Tony scolded him. 

Loki scoffed. "Please like that has any effect. My mother drank while she was pregnant with Thor."

Tony raised an eyebrow at his lover.

Loki realized what he said. "Cancel that second order."

Bruce laughed lightly. "As a doctor, I would've never served it to you anyway."

Tony smiled as he grabbed the drink off the counter. "Thanks, Banner." Tony followed Loki out of the room to the staircase that lead to their floor. 

Bruce finished making his drink, and sat back down in his chair. Him and Cap let out twin sighs, as Bruce swallows the first sip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is probably going to be focused around Clint/Natasha, seeing as her little outburst is going to make Clint suspicious.


	4. Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall Nat/Clint.
> 
> Enjoy :)
> 
> P.S. some trigger warnings lay ahead for mentions of abortion and rape.

Natasha found her way to the floor where her bedroom was. She hadn't spent much time in here since she'd been spending the nights in Clint's room. Her inner spy would never allow her to let him in here. It was her domain. She closed the door behind her, and sunk down against the wall. She let one tear roll down her cheek. How could she have been so stupid?! To let her guard down for one night, and now she has a burden to bare that will effect the rest of her life. 

 

Clint knocked on the door. "Nat, can I come in?"

 

Natasha straightened her back against the wall, and turned her head to look at the door. She wiped the tear away and stood to open the door a crack.

 

"Yeah?" she whispered, peaking out.

 

"Can I come in?" he asked. 

 

Nat paused. She'd never let him in. Maybe this time, however, she'd need to. Her emotions flew all around her like a cloud. She opened the door.

 

Clint took a step back, in surprise, then walked through the threshold. "I'm not going to get shot?" he joked.

 

Nat gave him a weak smile, "Not this time."

 

Clint stood in front of her, and put a hand to her cheek. She flinched at the contact. Clint's eyebrows rose in shock.

 

"Nat," he pleaded. "Talk to me. What's wrong."

 

Nat wouldn't let a tear fall. Her resolve was too strong, but this was the man she put so much trust into. One could go as far as saying it was love. 

 

_"Is this love, Agent Romanov?"_

 

_"Love is for children, I owe him a debt."_

 

The memory tore her face away from his hand. She walked over to the bed and sat down on the floor. She looked so small, with her legs folded Indian style beneath her. Clint came and sat next to her.

 

Natasha began to pick at the carpet fibers, trying to control her unusual mess of emotions. 

 

'Fuck these hormones are already messing with me,' she thought.

 

Clint wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in. Nat allowed the embrace, and laid her head on his shoulder. 

 

"You're going to have to tell me eventually," he told her.

 

She knew that he knew. No one knew The Widow better. He just needed confirmation.

 

She turned to him, tears she was desperately trying to hold back, welling up in her eyes. "I'm pregnant."

 

Clint exhaled. His suspicions were right. The emotions she was fighting had to be hormones. Natasha was always in check with her emotions.

 

He didn't have to ask who's it was. He knew he was the father. Natasha's loyalty complex was too high to allow her to cheat. Rape was out the question too. The would be rapist would be lying dead in an alley. 

 

A sniffle from Natasha brought Clint out of his thoughts. "It'll be ok," he told her. 

 

Nat snapped her head up. She eyes were suddenly furious. "No it won't! Our careers are shot! Fury will murder us!" She read his expression. "Abortion isn't an option. I will not be the mother my mother wished she was."

 

Clint nodded his head in understanding. He hid his happiness and excitement under a mask. He didn't want Nat to make a choice she wasn't ready for. 

 

"So what are we going to do?" he asked.

 

Nat let the tears fall. She was tired of fighting. "I don't know. Tell Fury? Face the wrath he holds. Quit S.H.I.E.L.D. The job's too dangerous to raise a child around. I'm sure Tony will have no problem with us staying here. We are still his team."

 

So they had a house. But no job. 

 

"You know they'll help out, right?" Clint said. Them referring to The Avengers.

 

"Of course, I know!" she snapped again. She looked back at the carpet. Kicking herself for all the emotions she couldn't control. "Sorry," she muttered.

 

Clint rubbed her back comfortingly. "It's alright. Everything will be fine. I promise."

 

Natasha really wanted to believe him. She really did. She just couldn't shake the regret that was eating her alive. Suddenly she realized how Loki must've felt, watching the plans you made vanish. She should probably talk to him at some point.


	5. Seeking and Flashbacks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sorry this is 5 hours overdue D: I wasn't feeling so great when I got home today I went to sleep (whoops)
> 
> but here it is!!
> 
> this weekend is going to be extremely busy for me so this may or may not be the last update until Sunday/Monday. I am truly sorry. I've been on a roll all week XD
> 
> enjoy chapter 5! it's a bit longer then the others!

It wasn't until the next day that Natasha decided to talk to Loki. Despite their past differences, he was the only one who would know what she was going through.

"JARVIS?" Nat asked of the house AI. "Where's Loki at?"

"The main living room, ma'am," JARVIS informed her.

Natasha made her way downstairs. She found the god lounging in "his chair" reading a book. Nat took a deep breath and came into the room.

Loki noticed her presence and looked up. "Hello, Agent Romanov," he smiled, benevolently.

Nat offered him a weak smile in return. "Can I talk to you?"

Loki's eyes widened with surprise. "Of course. What's on your mind."

The Widow drew in a shaky breath. "Can you please not mention this to anyone else? The only other person who knows is Clint."

Loki nodded. Whatever she was going to tell him was big. Why else would she seek him out? He wondered if she shared his predicament...

"How..." she thought about how she wanted to phrase the question. "How did you handle the news? That you were pregnant? Did you feel angry? Did you feel sad? Did you feel happy? Did you fear for Tony?"

Loki's lips twitched into a small grin. "Agent Romanov, are you expecting?"

Nat avoided his gaze, picking at her nails. "Yeah..."

Loki sat up, interested in how the spy could've let her walls fall this far. Of course he knew who the father was. He didn't even need to ask. Barton was the only one allowed to share most of her life with her.

"When did you know?" he asked.

"About a week ago? I never said anything to anyone until yesterday, when you told Tony. It made me realize that I can't hide. So I told Clint last night," she told the god.

"How did he take it?"

"Rather well, to be honest. I was expecting a whole dramatic reaction, but he was really supportive."

"That's the important thing. What are you going to do about your future, however? What of S.H.I.E.L.D. or Fury?" Loki questioned, not to bring her mental hell but rather to advise.

"I don't know... that's why I came to you. I need help, advice, really. What should I do? Should I quit S.H.I.E.L.D? Should I give up my career? And before you ask, I'm not getting rid of the child. It's not an option," Natasha explained. She had a lot on her mind.

Loki thought about her questions, taking her very seriously. He could see that she was being honest. She only fooled the God of Lies once. He wouldn't allow it to happen again.

"You have a lot of tough decisions to make. My mother is going to arrive tomorrow. Would you like to talk to her too? She would be better to advise you on those decisions," Loki offered to the Widow.

Natasha looked taken aback. "I would really like that. I just have so many questions I need advice with. I feel like my future is erasing itself."

Loki understood. He hadn't planned on this at all. He was working on making peace with Thor and Odin. Having to spend another thousand some years with the both of them breathing down his neck is something he didn't really want. Loki's pregnancy would probably heal the wound between him and Thor, but it would deepen the one between him and Odin. He saw all his hard work go right down the drain. He hadn't even wanted to make recompense, but it was Tony who convinced him it would be a good idea.

Loki dragged himself from his thoughts. "I'm sure she would love to help you. The closest thing she has to a daughter is Sif, but ever since Thor found Jane, those plans dissolved."

Natasha gave him a small smile. "Thank you so much, Loki."

Loki smiled back. "If there's anything you need, just come find me."

"I will," Natasha said and stood to leave. Just as she was headed to the stairs, Tony walked in.

"Hey, Nat!" he called.

Natasha turned around, smilied, and waved. She kept walked toward the stairs, however.

Once she was gone, Tony turned to Loki. "She ok?"

Loki smiled. "She'll be fine."

Tony accepted that that was all he was getting from their conversation. He walked over, and perched on the arm of Loki's chair.

"So your mom's coming tomorrow?" Tony asked.

"Yes," Loki confirmed.

"Good, good," Tony said.

Tony liked Frigga. She knew about them right away, the first time she came to see how Loki and Thor were doing. Tony and Loki had been lying on the long couch. Tony's head leaning against the far arm of the couch, and Loki's head on the opposite arm. They weren't lying together, but Frigga still knew. Loki wouldn't share the couch with anyone he didn't trust a little bit.

That was about two months after Loki moved into the tower, under Thor's request. He couldn't stay on Asgard, because the Allfather would've locked him away. Everyone opposed the idea, but there was something about the look in Loki's eyes that made him say yes. He looked so broken. Even more so then when he came to New York the first time. Tony saw a bit of himself in Loki's eyes. Besides having the attractive, dark-haired god around wasn't hurting anyone, as far as Tony was concerned.

_At first Loki did nothing but hide in his room. Of course, when Tony had built the tower he didn't put a lot of bedrooms in it. He put 6 in. Why he put 6 in, he'll never remember, but he did. When Loki came, his only request was his own bedroom. Steve, being the person he is, made the sacrifice to move. He packed up his stuff and moved into Thor's room._

_Of course, because the universe tests Tony, Steve lived on his floor. So when he moved, Loki came up to his floor. He was already fighting off attraction to the person who was supposed to be their arch enemy. Now he was three doors down the hall._

_It didn't take long to drag Loki out of his room. Tony was brushing his teeth one morning when he heard his bedroom door open and shut. He peaked out of the bathroom to find Loki, back pressed up against the door to the hall, looking like a cornered cat._

_"Please, just let me hide here," Loki pleaded._

_Tony raised an eyebrow at Loki, toothbrush still in his mouth, wearing nothing but a towel around his waist._

_Loki held a finger up to his lips and motioned toward the hall. A few moments later, they heard Thor call out._

_"Brother! Come out and join in conversation!! The man of iron has these wonderful treats called POP-TARTS that you must try!" Thor bellowed, knocking on the door to Loki's room._

_Loki looked at Tony, who just gave him a thumbs up and returned to the bathroom. Loki let out a sigh of relief, sliding away from the door. He sat down in the spare chair in Tony's room, curling up._

_When Tony returned to the room (wearing at least a pair of pants this time) Loki was asleep in his chair. He contemplated waking him up, but he looked too peaceful. He didn't want to disturb the god. Tony grabbed a blanket from the closet and threw it over Loki._

That was the first event. Everything after that just snowballed into the inevitable.

"What's on your mind?" Loki asked, nudging Tony's arm.

Loki's voice brought him out of his nostalgic cloud of thoughts.

"Nothing. Just thinking about the time you hid in my room from Thor," Tony said, looking down at Loki, smiling.

Loki laughed. "I hid in there often from him."

"True. I was thinking about the first time, though."

Loki smiled a peaceful smile at the memory. "That was the first time anyone showed me an ounce of kindness. Beside Frigga, but she's my mother, I don't think that counts."

Tony smiled slyly. "What could've I done? There was an attractive, sleeping god in my room. I wanted him to stay, so I made him comfortable."

Loki barked out a laugh. "Tony Stark, you smooth animal."

Tony wiggled his eye brows comically at his lover. "Animal you say?"

Loki playfully shoved Tony off the arm of the chair. "Down, boy!"

Tony stumbled off the chair, falling against a wall. Loki jumped up off the chair and took off running. Tony laughed and chased Loki around the living room. Both men were laughing hysterically at their childish antics. Loki managed to out maneuver Tony, and made a break for the elevator when the doors opened and he ran right into Thor.

"Hello, brother!" Thor bellowed.

Loki could hear Tony's foot steps quickly running toward him. Tony, however, tripped over a piece of the carpet that had been kicked back when Loki ran over it.

"Move! You oaf!" Loki laughed as he shoved Thor aside and ran into the elevator.

"Thor! Don't let that door close!" Tony shouted, quickly getting to his feet.

Thor smiled and laughed. He put his hand over the sensor to the elevator doors.

"No! You imbecile!!" Loki shouted, laughter lacing his voice. "Don't let him in!"

He tried in vain to move Thor. While he could've easily made Thor move, he truly didn't want to get away that easy. Tony slid into the elevator seconds later.

"Thanks, point break!" Tony said, giving Thor a light slap on the arm.

Thor laughed and removed his hand. "Anything for a friend!"

Loki tried to glare at Thor, but Tony snuck a kiss on his cheek. The doors dinged shut an the elevator took the pair to their floor.

Thor laughed to himself a he walked toward the couches. "They'll be good parents."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter is where Frigga will offer her advise to the two expecting.


	6. The Queen's Advice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im sorry this is so late D: the weekend was crazy and yesterday i needed to sleep and rest cause the weekend really left me drained!
> 
> here's chapter 6, theres some frigga, some nat, some tony, some loki, and an itty bit of thor :)
> 
> enjoy!

Frigga arrived the next morning in a bright flash of white light, landing on the landing pad of the Avengers Tower. Thor was there to greet her with smile. 

 

"Mother!" he shouted. 

 

Frigga smiled at her son, stepping off the platform. "Hello, my son. Where is Loki?"

 

"In the living room. I'll show you," Thor took his mothers arm and led her through the house to the living room.

 

Loki, Tony, and Nat all sat in the living room, lounging about, reading various books. When Frigga entered the room, all three sat up.

 

"Brother, Stark, The Lady Natasha, may I present, Queen Frigga of Asgard!" Thor said, introducing his mother to the group.

 

"Please, Thor, there's no need for such formalities," Frigga told him, slipping away from her older son.

 

She went to the couch and stood behind Loki, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

 

"Hello, mother," Loki said, his eyes leaving the book, and smiling up at her.

 

"Hello, love. How are you?" she asked.

 

"I'm well."

 

Frigga turned her attention to Tony. "Hello, Tony."

 

"Hey mom!" Tony said, in a joking tone. 

 

Loki kicked him in the shins, throwing him a glare. Frigga laughed, ruffling Tony's hair and she moved to sit next to Nat. 

 

"You must be Natasha," Frigga said.

 

"That's me," Nat said quietly, offering the queen a small smile.

 

"Loki said you wished to speak with me," Frigga told her.

 

Nat shook her head and looked up at Thor. Natasha nodded her head to the left. Thor took the hint and left the room.

 

"Only Clint and Loki know this, and I guess Tony will now," Natasha began, shooting Tony a glare that said 'I dare you to say something'.

 

Tony zipped his lips and went back to his book. Loki also returned to his reading.

 

Frigga gave Natasha her full attention.

 

The Widow took a deep breath, "I'm pregnant, or at least I'm 80% sure I am. I don't see how I wouldn't be."

 

Frigga smiled brightly. "That's wonderful news, my dear!"

 

Natasha tried to return the smile, but it faltered. "I wish it was. Unfortunately, with my career choice there's no room for children. Director Fury will be furious, and I will probably have to resign."

 

Frigga looked deeply troubled. "Why would you have to quit your job, simply because you are with child?"

 

Nat looked to Tony for backup, but he was throughly engrossed in his spy novel.

 

"My, uh, my job is dangerous. I work as a spy. When I'm not doing spy things, I'm an Avenger," Nat explained, looking down at her hands.

 

Frigga nodded in understanding. "I see. Natasha, give me your hands."

 

Nat looked confused but allowed the queen to take her hands.

 

"This is going to tingle but it won't hurt, I promise," Frigga assured her.

 

Natasha nodded. A golden glow spread out from their conjoined hands, and quickly spread over Nat. The glow intensified over Natasha's lower abdomen, right where a baby would be growing. Tony and Loki's books fell to their laps as they  watched with awe. Tony still had trouble wrapping his head around magic.

 

The glowing stopped and Frigga let go of Natasha's hands. She smiled at the Widow. 

 

"You are, indeed, with child," the Asgardian queen told the spy.

 

Natasha felt a little relieved. She at least had confirmation. She felt it in her soul. 

 

"As for your occupation, I would suggest that you set it aside for a few years. You're child will be very understanding once they reach a certain age. You must also return that understanding. Do not rule over this child with an iron fist. A healthy mother-child relationship will form with love and understanding. You can eventually return to S.H.I.E.L.D. If Director Fury gives you trouble, ask Thor to come get me." Frigga gave her advice to Natasha. "As for the father, if is he going to be a permeant part of your child's life, he must understand this."

 

Natasha thanked Frigga for the advice and confirmation. She was still trying to take all of this in. She  really was so thankful. She really needed someone to tell her that everything was going to be fine. 

 

Frigga patted her knee and stood. "You should go talk to the father. If you ever need anything at all, let Thor or Loki know. Even if it's just for a cup of tea and a chat to get something off your chest."

 

The Widow nodded, and excused herself, quietly slipping from the room.

 

Frigga smiled and turned back to Tony and Loki. "Boys."

 

"Have you told the Allfather yet?" Loki asked, disgust lacing the word 'Allfather'. He never looked up from his book.

 

Frigga sighed. "No, Loki, I haven't. It isn't my right to inform him. He should know, but you must be the one to tell him."

 

"What would it matter to him?" Loki asked, angry now. He shifted his gaze away from the book and up to Frigga. "It's not like he'll be pleased to have an addition to the bloodline! I'm not blood!"

 

Tony laid a comforting hand on Loki's thigh, and set his book aside. Loki jumped at little at the contact.

 

"You're still a prince of Asgard. You will always be my son. Perhaps your father will see the love you hold for you child and for Tony in your eyes. That will change his mind."

 

"He's not my father!!" Loki shouted, slamming his book shut.

 

The sudden outburst startled Tony, who had been lost in thought, rubbing circles with his thumb on Loki's thigh.

 

Frigga look pained. "You're always so perceptive about everyone, but yourself."

 

Loki rolled his eyes. "He lied to me. For my entire life I lived a lie. I'm sorry that it's still a sore spot. Had I known about my true parentage earlier, I would've known more about Jötun anatomy. Maybe then I wouldn't be sitting here."

 

Tony looked at Loki, hurt. "What? You don't want to be here?"

 

Loki sighed, deeply frustrated. "I didn't mean it like that. You know that!! I mean if I had known, then maybe this would've happened in later years. Perhaps it could've even been planned."

 

  
_Planned._ Nothing the two did ever went as planned. That's why they are here now. In hindsight, Tony should've seen it coming. Some mysterious plot twist to disprove everything, yet again. Loki was a grab bag of surprises, as it turned out.

 

"What matters now is that you are both here," Frigga's soft voice brought Tony out of his thoughts. "You need to remain so, for your child."

 

Tony smiled at Loki. "I wouldn't dream of leaving now."

 

Frigga's heart warmed at the fact that her youngest son had found someone who would be willing to work through the kinks and stick by Loki. Tony Stark, to Frigga, was a national treasure.

 

"Mother," Loki said softly. "Would you mind sticking around? I think we should tell S.H.I.E.L.D."

 

Frigga looked toward the heavens and exhaled. "I had not prepared for an argument, but I can understand why you would want to let them know. I can stay until 5, your time of course."

 

Tony thanked the queen and got up to make her a cup of peppermint tea. This afternoon would be interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter should be fun ;)


	7. Director Eye Patch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the lateness, as I don't have an excuse for it xD
> 
> enjoy :)

"What the ever living FUCK do you mean by 'Loki's pregnant with my child', Stark?!" Fury shouted at the billionaire.

"Exactly what I said," Tony shot back, smirking at Fury's anger. "Loki is pregnant with my child."

Fury looked livid. Tony thought it best for Loki to sit this one out while the team brought the news up with the Director.

"And how the hell does that happen, Stark?" The Director asked, folding his hands together on the table in front of each other.

Tony grinned. The Director had walked right into this one. "Well, you see, when a mommy and a daddy love each other very much,"

"STARK!" Fury shouted, cutting Tony off. "I'm fully aware of where children come from! What I am not fully aware of is how YOU, a human male, and HIM, an Asgardian male, are expecting."

Thor piped up before Tony could traumatize the group further. "If I may, Tony and Director, Loki isn't Asgardian. He's Jötun. Jötuns, of any gender, can bare children."

Fury blinked his one eye slowly, three times at Thor, before speaking again. "So you mean to tell me your brother is ANOTHER alien race that we've yet to meet?"

Thor paused. "Yes, although I'm not sure it would be wise to meet Jötuns."

"Loki makes the case convincing," Fury grumbled.

Tony and Thor shot up.

"Hey! Whoa! Rude! First off, Loki's problems and past crimes are not to blame for his race, ok let's not be racist. Secondly, Thor meant that because Jötuns live in ice cold temperatures that would freeze humanity!" Tony defended. He wanted to add a 'Bitch.' at the end, but thought it wrong.

Apparently Tony had chosen the right words, for once. Fury shut his mouth. 

"Director, if I may," Steve spoke up. "The reason Tony is telling you this is so that Loki will no longer be seen as an enemy in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s eyes."

Fury looked at the Captain. "You telling me you don't see him as an enemy?"

"Not anymore, no." Steve answered truthfully.

This shocked Tony.

"I see how he is with Tony, and I truly believed he's changed for the better. He's no longer the god who wanted to rule earth." he explained.

Fury listened to Cap's words. "I'll take that into consideration, Cap. Anyone else have anything to say? Bruce?"

"I agree with Steve," Bruce answered simply. "Loki's really calmed down. He still has his moments, but he's alright."

Tony snorted. 'His moments'. They all knew what Bruce was talking about. Loki had days every so often where he would explode into a rage and attempt to break everything in the tower, just because he could. After a few hours, he'd calm down, terribly embarrassed about it. Bruce ran some tests and concluded that is was because of left over Tesseract energy. Clint shuttered, patted his back awkwardly, and wished the god luck. They'd all grown used to it. Much like Bruce's hulk outs.

Fury looked doubtful. "Well I don't believe it."

"Would you like to ask him yourself?" Tony said pointedly.

Fury sighed. "Sure, Stark, I'll humor you. Bring him in."

Tony gave Fury a forced smile and stood to go get Loki. He poked his out of the door. "Dear! Director Eye Patch needs validation to your goodness level. Would you mind stepping in?"

Clint repressed a snicker. Nat, Cap, and Bruce all smiled at the mocking tone Tony had used. Thor's semi-permeant smile was accompanied by a hardy laugh. Fury glared at the group. 

Tony opened the door further for Loki as the god stepped into the room. Loki's smile was small, knowing Tony was purposely trying to rule up the Director.

"You wished to see me?" Loki asked, coming to stand next to Tony's seat. Tony pulled the god onto his lap, wrapping an arm around his slim waist.

"I've been told by this group of So-Called Heroes that you're a changed god. Is that true?" Fury asked, hunching his back.

"I'd like to believe so. I can certainly promise you I won't be destroying anything anytime soon. I wouldn't risk the child," Loki told him with honesty. "If it'll put you at ease, know that my mother wouldn't stand for such an action. I'd rather not disappoint her... again."

"Mama's boy," Clint mumbled to Natasha. 

Nat kicked him under the table, and send a look to Thor telling him Clint wouldn't do that again. Thor visibly relaxed, seeing that his brothers honor (what he still had) was intact.

Loki looked over at the Hawk, with an evil glint in his eye. "Ooo, Barton. I wouldn't."

Tony tightened his grip on his lovers waist and hooked his chin over Loki's shoulder. "Loki," he warned.

Loki's eyes flicked toward Tony, then lowered. He was trying to prove himself.

"Point and case," Steve said, pointing out what had just happened to Fury.

"So, basically, Loki's whipped?" Fury asked.

That was not the right thing to say.

Loki's eyes snapped up with murderous intent at the Director. Thor sat forward in his seat, ready to stop his brother from making a poor choice. Tony shifted a bit so his head was nuzzled in the crook of Loki's neck.

"Don't," was the only thing Loki said to the director, taking in a shaky breath. Loki fought harm to calm himself. He dug his nails into Tony's arm.

The director watched this all with a wide eye. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm impressed. Examples A and B of controlling your temper. Tony if you send me the footage I know JARVIS has from today's meeting, I'll bring this to the board. I'll work on getting your name cleared, Loki."

That was the single most shocking news the gang had heard in a few days. Fury was going to work to clear Loki's name! Retribution could actually happen!! Loki felt like jumping for joy. Now he just needed to get Odin off his back...

"Are we done here?" Tony asked, his voice bringing Loki back to the room.

"Yeah. We're good. Send me that footage and I'll present it to the board this week," Fury told them, standing.

"Director," Natasha's voice came from her seat, at the far end of the table. "May I have a word with you in private?"

"Alright, Romanov," Fury said, holding the door open for her. 

Nat stood and motioned for Clint to come with her. The director just raised an eyebrow at the pair as the walked out past him.

"What's happening?" Steve asked, once the trio had left.

"It's Lady Romanov's business to tell you," Loki said, getting off of Tony. He pulled Tony to his feet, once standing.

"He knows?" Bruce asked Tony.

Tony made a show of zipping his lips. He was staying out of this.

What did Loki know about Natasha? Why did Loki know? These were the questions Steve asked himself as he followed Thor out of the conference room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter will be a lot shorter (sorry!!)
> 
> p.s. these stories are a bitch to copy and paste on mobile, so please forgive formatting mess ups!!


	8. Russian Bun in the Oven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am beyond sorry that this is late and short. I've got ideas flowing for the next bunch of chapters and I'm bursting with FrostIron feels so be prepared for a few chapters of nothing but our boys. 
> 
> Enjoy :D

"What's so god damn important that you had to ask me out here, Romanov? Why is Barton here too? I don't remember assigning you two to the same assignment," Fury all but spats at the pair.

Natasha visibly cringes, mentally clinging to Clint for support.

"Actually this is a personal matter, Director," Nat begins. "I'm going to need some time off."

Fury's one eye nearly pops out of his skull. "Some time off?! SOME TIME OFF?! What could possibly require time off?!"

Natasha stood her ground. "I made a mistake. Well, Clint and I did, but I'm being responsible for it." She takes a calming breath and reaches for Clint's hand, squeezing it tightly. "I'm pregnant."

Fury just stands there, eye wide, staring at the Widow. "I'm sorry what?"

Nat let go of Clint's hand and crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm pregnant and if that's a problem then I'll quit. If not I want some time off. I don't want this child to go through the hell I went through. Tony's already offered a permeant place of residence here." Her hesitance was replaced with attitude. She wasn't taking this bullshit.

"Do I hear shouting?" a soft voice came from around the corner. "It's not good for a mother's blood pressure to skyrocket the way it sounds like it is."

Frigga rounded the corner, coming to stand next to Director Fury. Fury looked surprised that the Queen of Asgard was in the tower. Then again, Thor might have brought her for moral support for Loki. What was it that Barton said? Mama's boy?

"It's nothing, Frigga. I'm just laying my cards on the table for S.H.I.E.L.D." Natasha told the queen.

Clint's jaw dropped. "You can't talk to the queen like that!! That's like going to the UK and calling Queen Elizabeth 'Liz' or something!"

Frigga laughed lightly. "It's quite alright, Mr. Barton. I've told Natasha to call me Frigga. You may as well, if you so please."

Clint was too star struck to give a response, while Fury looked utterly unimpressed. He had no idea what to do about Romanov. Yes, she deserved the time off. Yes, she was one of his best agents. The most damning piece of this was the fact that it was NATASHA'S life. Not S.H.I.E.L.D.'s. 

He sighed and rubbed his temples. "Alright, Romanov. Take the time you need. Obviously we'll be in contact because you'll be here when I need to brief you all on something. You're still going to be apart of the Avengers, but you can decide when too much is too much. I'll let the board know."

Fury was so done with today. He turned and walked toward the elevator, where a car would be waiting to take him back to base.

"Thank you, Nick," Natasha said, giving him a small smile.

The elevator doors dinged open. Fury stepped one foot in and looked back at the Widow. "Yeah, yeah. No problem, all that bullshit. Be good to that child."

"I will."

The elevator doors dinged shut. Frigga laid a comforting hand on Natasha and Clint's shoulder.

"That went better then expected! You'll both be wonderful parents. I can feel it," Frigga assured them with a smile.

Clint sighed and looked at his red haired lover. "I sure hope so."


	9. Let's Do This Thing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHOA!! TWO CHAPTERS IN ONE DAY!!
> 
> yeah I owe you guys this (as much as I owe myself) and I'm bored... so why not?? 
> 
> this chapter is nothing but Tony/Loki
> 
> enjoy :)

Later that night, after everything was said and done. After Steve had cooked a delicious meal for the group. After Frigga had left to go home to Asgard. After Natasha had told her team she was expecting. After the impromptu celebration for the new mommies (much to Loki's dislike for the way Bruce phrased that). After all of this, Tony and Loki lay in their big fluffy bed, just listening to the sounds of New York. Loki was idly tracing a finger around Tony's arc reactor, and Tony was idly combing his fingers through Loki's hair. It was peaceful, it was quiet, it was content, and it was fucking out of character.

It was too calm and quiet. Tony's head was buzzing (probably from the four flutes of champagne he had whilst celebrating), but still something wasn't right. 

As if Loki could read his thoughts, he tore his gaze away from the blue light of the reactor and looked up at Tony.

"What troubles you?" he asked, in a quiet voice.

"This all went down too well. Fury just accepting that you've changed, Fury giving Nat the time off, Bruce calling you and Nat 'expecting mommies'. I was expecting backlash and chaos and hate and confusion and having to fight for everything," Tony confessed.

Loki reached up and carded a hand through his lovers brown hair. "I was expecting the same, but we were wrong."

"Apparently."

"Do you no wish for the support we have gotten?" Loki questioned. 

"No! No! I'm glad we've gotten it. I just wasn't expecting it," Tony confessed.

"Mmm," Loki hummed, snuggling into Tony. "Odin still has to know."

"Ah yes. There it is. The other shoe."

Loki laughed lightly. "I know not how the Allfather will react. The way mother talks, it seems like I was making great strides to being 'one of the family' again, and Odin was accepting it."

"That is the single most shocking news I've heard all day," Tony said, seriously.

"Mmm, yes, that's what I had thought too."

They lay in a comfortable silence for a while. Tony was beginning to drift into unconsciousness. A car on the street below swerved and violently beeped it's horn at it's offender. The sound brought Tony out of his daze.

"When do you want to tell him?" Tony asked, yawning and shifting himself under the covers a lite more.

"Never," was Loki's honest response. "But I know that won't be allowed."

"It's only Tuesday," Tony began. "We could go on Friday and spend the weekend in Asgard."

Loki groaned and turned over, his back up against Tony's chest. "I'd rather not spend three days there. I'd rather not even spend three hours."

"Aw come on! It'll be fun!" Tony coaxed. "We can get away from the team a bit, give them a break too, you can show me all around. It'll be fun, because I'll be there too."

Loki looked over his shoulder. Tony was silently pleading with his eyes. Loki would have to go to tell Odin anyway. Why not go under the guise of a "Family Bonding" weekend. 

He sighed. "Fine, Anthony. We'll go to Asgard this weekend. I'll have Thor tell Frigga so she can tell Odin. We'll go under the pretenses of a 'Family Bonding' weekend. Thor will have to come too."

Tony beamed. He'd never been to the place Loki once called home, but now he'd be able to see it. "That's fine. But Thor isn't sharing a room with us."

Loki laughed and pulled one of Tony's arms to wrap around his waist. He snuggled down deeper into the pillows and blankets, and leaned back against Tony's chest ever so slightly. 

"Good night, Anthony," Loki whispered.

"Good night, Reindeer Games," Tony said, lovingly. Tony gently rubbed his hand over where a baby would be growing.

They both fell asleep a short time later, the city spinning on.


	10. Thor, Why the Hell is Loki Here?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is alllllll flashback!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so hi! 
> 
> I'd been having a Tom Hiddleston movie marathon day, and a thought occurred to me. "Where does my story stand in the marvel timeline?"
> 
> so I'm going to tell you. directly after The Avengers, and before iron man 3 and Thor 2.
> 
> another thought occurred to me. "how did Loki arrive at the tower." that's explained in this chapter.
> 
> given the fact that I've given this story a place in the timeline now, my friend who's been editing this pointed out that pepper isn't even apart of this. honestly it's because I forgot her. I have nothing against pepper, I love her so much she's a goddess, but I forgot her. I feel horrible about it. in my story she's just going to be Tony's closet friend. they never had a thing.
> 
> so yeah. again, this whole chapter is one big flashback. I thought we could use a good break before hell breaks lose in Asgard.
> 
> enjoy :D

Shortly after New York, maybe a month or two, Thor came back to Earth with Loki. They landed on the rooftop, scaring the shit out of a Tony (who was making himself a drink). As much as Tony was happy to see the blond god, he wasn't so pleased to see Loki. In fact, his exact words were "Thor, why the hell is Loki here?"

Loki looked miserable. The twoish months that he'd spent in punishment on Asgard had not served him well. It churned Thor's stomach to know his brother was subject to. Thor hadn't forgiven Loki, not could he fully trust him either, but Loki was still his brother. 

"Man of Iron," Thor began with a sigh, looking weary. "I know this is a big favor I ask of you, but would you find it in your heart and your tower, to find room for the both of us. I know you already have a room for me."

Tony looked so shocked. He hadn't expected this. As much as he'd love to help a friend out, he didn't really want the raven haired god in the tower. Or could he? 

"Why would I do that, Point Break?" Tony asked. He wanted answers before he gave his own.

"My father would subject Loki to unspeakable things. As it is, he's already been exposed to some of the worst Asgard has to offer. My mother, Frigga, has requested that I bring us here," Thor explained, looking like he had explained this once too many times before.

Tony set down his drink and walked around the counter to look at the pair. Thor had his hand on Loki's back. Loki looked like he was going to collapse in pain any minute. He met Tony's eyes with a silent plea. Yes, Tony actually saw begging in Loki's eyes. Tony looked to Thor who only nodded. This was no illusion. That broke something in Tony's chest that he couldn't explain.

"Yeah. You guys can stay," Tony said, going back to the bar for his drink. "But the MINUTE anything goes wrong, he's out."

Thor beamed as much as he could for being worn out. "Many thanks, Man of Iron."

That was the moment Loki chose to collapse onto the floor. Thor looked slightly alarmed and picked him up. Tony set down his drink and came back around the bar again. 

"Set him on the couch," Tony told the god. "J, run diagnostics on our favorite trickster."

"Yes, sir," Jarvis said. 

Thor jumped at the sound of a voice with an unseen body. "What is this madness?!" He went to reach for Mjölnir. 

"Whoa! Whoa! Calm down! No hammer, alright? It's just JARVIS. He's the house AI. You know, Artificial Intelligence? He's like my butler or sidekick. What ever makes more sense to you," Tony explained, holding his hands out to stop Thor. 

Thor lowered his arm and looked up at the ceiling. "A man with no body. That is very cool, Man of Iron."

Tony nodded in thanks.

"Sir, Mr. Odinson's results have come back. He's suffering malnutrition and dehydration. As well as some psychological damage," JARVIS informed.

"I'm not Odin's son!" Loki spat from his position on the couch. 

"Forgive me, Sir. What would you like to be called?" JARVIS asked politely, shocking everyone in the room.

"Loki will do," Loki spoke to the AI, before collapsing back onto the couch again. 

"I'll get some water," Tony said, jumping up.

"Thank you, again, Man of Iron," Thor said, sitting on the floor beside his brother.

"Tony, please Thor, call me Tony," Tony said, returning with the water and handing it to Thor. 

Thor tried to get Loki to sit up and drink the water. Loki did so with a struggle. 

"Brother you must drink this or your health will fail," Thor pleaded with him. 

"Let it," was Loki's response. 

That hit home with Tony. Loki was at a point where he didn't care anymore. If he lived, yay! If not, oh well. Tony was at this point not long ago. After Afghanistan, after Obie, after Pepper took over as CEO. Tony remembers his lowest moment being that birthday party where he had used the suit as a toilet. Yeah that was the lowest. He really couldn't care anymore.

He shook his head of the thoughts and turned his attention back to the two Asgardians. There was so much pain in Thor's expression. Loki looked utterly indifferent.

"Please, brother. I beg of you," Thor tried again.

"I'M NOT YOUR BROTHER!" Loki snapped, slapping Thor's hand away. 

Tony watched the outburst with interest. He knew Loki was adopted. Thor had told them. It was an obvious sore spot, however.

Thor sighed and stood, leaving the glass on the table by the couch. "When you find it in yourself to care, take a sip. Tony, may I be shown to my room? I forget where it is."

Tony looked up at the thunder god. "Uh, yeah. Should Loki be alone or is that not?"

Loki scoffed, and turned to face the back of the couch. 

"He'll not cause trouble. He's far too weak," Thor assured.

Loki lobbed a shoe at Thor's head, as if to disprove his statement.

"That's the extent of it," Thor said.

"Ok. I guess that's fine. J, let me know when things start to break," Tony told his AI, walking out with Thor on his heels.

Once the door to the penthouse shut, Loki reached for the water. He was incredibly thirsty. He downed the whole glass in under 60.

"Would you like a refill, Sir?" JARVIS asked.

The god jumped. "No. No I'm ok." He laid back on the couch and curled into the back again. It was one hell of a comfortable couch...

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Loki's WHAT?!" Clint screeched at Tony.

Tony had just dropped Thor at his room and decided to come round and tell the gang what's up.

"He's staying with us. Thor assures us he won't cause anything. I mean, the guy looks broken and worn out. Thor's even got a request from Frigga, the QUEEN of Asgard. I couldn't really say no," Tony told the group.

They all looked at him in shock. Tony turned to Steve, for some support in being a good person.

"It's alright," Steve spoke up, after getting the hint. "I would've done the same."

Good old Mr. Righteous. 

"He'll need a room, won't he?" Steve asked. 

Tony hadn't thought of that. "Uh, eventually I guess. Right now he's on my couch."

"Could he room with Thor?" Bruce asked. 

"Sir, if I may," JARVIS cut in. "Mr. Loki had voiced some opinions on rooms. He had some... harsh words for him sharing a room with anyone. I wouldn't deem it wise."

Tony raised an eyebrow at the group. "Alright. Who's doubling up?"

Nat backed out, as did Bruce. Predictable. 

Hawkeye and Cap were having a stare off. Clint was not about to lose.

"Alright, fine! I'll double up with someone," Cap said, throwing his hands up In defeat. "Who am I rooming with?"

The group talked it over and thought it best for Steve to room with Thor. Thor had the second biggest room in the house, and the god didn't mind at all.

All of that was settled then, or so Tony thought. He returned to the Penthouse when I thought hit him. Steve's room was in the Penthouse. So Loki would be here.

Tony swallowed hard as that thought crossed his mind. It'd be alright, right? Loki wouldn't try to kill him. It's not like Tony would do anything either. Loki, despite his obvious good looks was nothing but trouble and definitely NOT Tony's type.

Then Tony saw him sleeping peacefully on his couch. He swore under his breath and grabbed the bottle of scotch. This couldn't be good.


	11. Bad Romance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ALRIGHT!  
> 1.) I'm sorry, writing this chapter took me forever due to its length, and exams and shit. I wasn't letting myself sleep before I posted this!!  
> 2.) I took creative license in this chapter.  
> 3.) I'll confess, I don't know much about the actual Norse mythology. what I know comes from google, other FostIron fics, and this underclasman on my bus who likes to give me Loki fun facts everytime I wear my Loki sweatshirt. ANYWAY: I used what I know liberally and put my own spin on it. It may not be the actual mythology, and it may also not be compliant to the comics but whatevs. this is fan fiction 8-)  
> 3&1/2.) I gave a nod to Thor: the dark world in here. I don't think I'm going to revisit it, but I threw it in there just in case :)  
> 4.) this is the longest chapter I have ever written.  
> 5.) title inspired by the song from the ever flawless Lady Gaga.
> 
> enjoy :D

"Anthony," Loki purred into Tony's ear. "We should get up."

Loki's voice brought Tony out of unconsciousness. He had to readjust to the fact that this wasn't when Loki first arrived. That was a dream. This was real. Today they were telling Odin.

"Five more minutes, mom," Tony grumbled and turned over.

Loki laughed. "Nope. That's not how this works, Darling." His tone was mocking.

Loki, using his godly strength, pushed Tony off of their bed, causing the inventor to flop ungracefully onto the floor.

"Ouch," Tony half moaned in fake pain. "Prick."

"You weren't getting up when I requested," Loki said, sitting on the edge of the bed.

He stood, and stretched his arms out. "Come, we must be on the roof by noon," Loki said, coming around to stand in front of Tony, offering his hand out so Tony could stand up.

Tony groaned and stood up. "But it's so early!"

Loki scoffed. "We still have to pack and ensure Thor is ready. There's much to be done today. A shower is in order first."

"A shower you say?" Tony wiggled his eyebrows at Loki.

Loki only smiled in return and grabbed Tony's hand. "Yes. Now let's go," he commanded, dragging Tony into the bathroom with him.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"THOR!!" Tony bellowed, rolling a small suitcase behind him. "Come on! We gotta go!!"

Loki was already on the roof waiting for Tony and Thor. Thor burst from his room and ran past Tony. His only luggage was Mjölnir. 

"These fucking Asgardians not needing freaking clothes," Tony mumbled and took the elevator to the top. 

The doors dinged and Tony stepped out into the elevator room, then to the roof. Loki was leaning against one of the high walls, shades on, chin titled toward the sun. He had on a simple green cotton long-sleeve shirt, and black skinny jeans. Midgardian clothes. Tony didn't question the choice because he looked fucking gorgeous. Tony gave him a low whistle. Loki slowly turned his head toward Tony and lifted the shades a bit.

"Going my way, hot stuff?" Tony asked, smiling. 

Loki laughed and put his shades back down. He titled his head to the sun again. "Dunno, Stark. Are you going my way?"

Tony chuckled and came to stand in front of Loki. "Which way would that be?" Tony had one leg on each side of Loki's crossed two, and put his palms on the wall. He leaned forward, invading Loki's personal space.

Loki didn't look down when he responded with, "Up, up, and away."

Tony laughed and leaned close enough to plant a feather light kiss on the exposed column of white neck. Loki shivered.

Then Thor came bursting through the door. Tony sighed and laid his head on Loki's chest.

"Took you long enough," Loki commented, not even looking at his brother.

"Apologies, Brother and Stark. The Lady Jane called me before I was to join you here," Thor explained, walking over to the pair. 

"It's all good, Big Guy," Tony told him, standing up and separating himself from Loki.

Loki stood up straight and took Tony's suitcase, disappearing it into a pocket of the universe that only Loki had access too.

Tony gaped. "You better not lose that! I have my favorite outfit in there."

Loki gave him a small, suggestive smile. "It wouldn't be a crime, if I lost it. I much prefer you with nothing on."

Well shit, if that didn't turn Tony on. Thor slightly blushed and coughed, clearly uncomfortable. Loki grinned wide. 

"When you're ready," Loki said, motioning to Thor.

Thor nodded his head, and turned it toward the heavens. "Heimdal! When you're ready!"

Three  
Two  
One

Tony felt like his feet where going to pop out through the top of his skull as the Bi-Frost zapped them up to Asgard. Bright lights erupted all around them. The sensation only lasted a few seconds before the trio landed on Asgard. Loki was gripping Tony's shoulders tightly. Loki knew that Tony was likely to throw up. It was a common occurrence among first time Bi-Frost travelers. But Tony didn't feel ill at all. 

"That was fun!! Can we do it again?" Tony asked excitedly.

Loki looked at him quizzically. He expected him to be sick and praying for the world to stop spinning. Huh. The only other person to have that reaction on their first trip from Midgard to Asgard was Jane.

"Welcome to Asgard," Heimdal greeted. "The queen has brought around horses for you three."

"Many thanks, Heimdal!" Thor said, clapping a hand on his friend's shoulder.

Tony hadn't gone riding since before Afghanistan. People have told him that horse riding was much like riding a bike. Once you learn you never forget.

The horses were a little bit taller then the ones on Earth. Tony should've seen that coming, honestly. Loki helped Tony get on the horse. Tony settled onto the saddle and breathed deep. He'd actually missed this.

"Have you ever ridden before, Man of Iron?" Thor asked.

"I used to. A lot, actually, I missed it," Tony confessed.

"Shall we then?" Loki asked, with a mischievous grin.

Tony returned the grin. "You're on!" 

Tony took off down the Bi-Frost. Loki laughed and set off after him, quickly catching up. They raced neck in neck until they reached the outskirts of the city. Tony wondered if he should slow down. Loki wasn't slowing down, so Tony assumed he was fine.

First mistake. Assumed. Loki abruptly stopped his horse at the end of the path. Tony looked back, confused and then his horse was skidding to a halt. Tony screeched and he flipped into a small creek. 

Tony was sitting in the small creek, glaring at Loki. Loki just laughed at him.

"Some warning would've been nice," Tony grumped.

Loki couldn't form words, he was laughing too hard. "You're face!" was all he could squeak out.

"Yeah, yeah, real funny. Out tricked by the trickster himself," Tony mumbled, standing up. He was dripping wet. 

Loki slid off his horse, laughter dying away. He magicked a towel out of thin air and wrapped it around his lovers shoulders. "I'm sorry, Anthony," he apologized as he dried off Tony's face and neck. "I couldn't help it. I wanted to get someone with that curve. I used to trick Thor with it often."

Tony glared at his trickster, but the expression held no malice. A few more quiet chuckles escaped Loki. Tony couldn't truly be angry when Loki was laughing, even if it was at his expense. Loki's laughter, his genuine laughter, was so rare and pure, Tony wanted to hear it all the time. 

Thor caught up to them a few moments later, a small laugh escaping him upon seeing Tony's wet clothes. 

"Did my brother get you on that curve too?" the thunderer asked, smiling.

Tony glared at Thor. "Ha, ha. Yes he did."

Loki smiled and wrapped his arms around Tony's neck, hugging him. A green glow spread over Tony and within a few seconds, he was dry. Tony gave his lover a peck on the cheek, a silent thanks that he didn't have to march through the city soaking wet.

"Come," Thor commanded, setting off ahead of the couple. "We have at least a 20 minute ride still."

Tony and Loki got back on their horses and followed Thor into the golden city.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The palace made The Avengers Tower and Stark Mansion look like Lincoln Log Cabins in comparison to its ornate vastness. Tony, who'd grown up in luxury, was overwhelmed. Pretty much everything that could be covered in gold, was. The architecture was breath taking. Needless to say, Tony was beyond impressed and horribly underdressed. It made him feel a little better seeing Loki still in his earth clothes, but he still felt out of place.

They were waiting outside of the throne room, where Frigga and Odin were waiting for them. The King and Queen were wrapping up some political business of some sort. Something about movement on Svartalfheim? Tony wasn't really paying attention and neither Thor or Loki looked terribly troubled by it, so Tony assumed it was something boring. Then again, maybe Tony should be cautiously curious. Look at what happened last time he assumed. He ended up soaking wet with Loki laughing at him.

Tony leaned over to whisper he curiosity to Loki. "What's on Svartalfheim that shouldn't be moving?"

Loki raised a curious eyebrow at his lover. "Svartalfheim is the dark world. The old home to the long dead dark elves. Asgard monitors it in case some other race of monsters decides to make it their home."

"I would not worry about it. Often the alerts we get from the dark world are of tumbleweeds spooking the patrols or something trivial like that," Thor chimed in.

"Ah, ok," Tony responded, satisfied that his assumption was correct.

Loki was about to ask why Tony cared when the doors opened. The trio looked up at the guards coming out. 

"The King and Queen will see you now," he said in a stoic voice.

Thor smiled jovially at the guard and Loki nodded his thanks, grabbing Tony's hand. The guard eyed the pair warily.

If Tony thought the palace couldn't get anymore ornate, he was wrong. Nearly everything in the room was golden. Tony wondered if it was solid gold. He was reminded yet again of how under dressed he was. Tony looked around the hall, taking it all in, when Loki suddenly stopped. The motion, or lack there of, yanked Tony back to his side. Tony looked down at their conjoined hands, then up to Loki's face. Loki's eyes were trained on Odin. Tony slowly moved his head to look where Loki was looking.

"Welcome to Asgard, Anthony Stark, of Midgard," Odin said in his official regal tones. 

"Thank you for having me," Tony replied, offering his most official voice.

"Frigga tells me you are the one responsible for Loki's... change of heart," Odin told the inventor.

Say what now? What was Odin implying? Tony looked up at Loki for a translation of sorts. Loki's eyes never left the throne, he only squeezed Tony's hand.

"Uh. I try?" Tony weakly offered.

"Father, you should know that much of Loki's work toward retribution on both Midgard and Asgard is his own work," Thor chimed in. "Tony only acts as Loki's support."

Tony suppressed a laugh as the mental image of him as Loki's personal cheerleader crossed his mind. The same thought must've crosses Loki's because Tony saw a small smile creep across his face.

"I see," Odin commented, his one eye staring Tony down. It reminded the inventor of Fury. "There will be much to discuss, but we have three days in which to do it. Thor show Mr. Stark to his chambers, I will have words with Loki."

Loki and Tony exchanged a silent glance. Tony saw the momentary gear flash through his eyes, then die. Loki squeezed Tony's hand one last time then let go and nodded his head. Tony nodded to the king and queen and followed Thor out of the room. 

The door shut with a bang. Loki laughed harshly, with a wide grin.

"What is so top secret that you could not discuss it in front of Tony and the oaf?" Loki questioned, a cruel smile on his lips.

"Your mother has told me about why you are here," was all Odin said, and the room went quiet.

'Of course she did,' Loki thought. "Well the cats out of the bag! Now you know and thus the whole reason for coming is null and void. I'll collect Stark on the way out." Loki turned on his heels and began to walk toward the door.

 

"What will become of you once his short mortal life has run it's course?" Odin asked, no concern lacing his voice.

Loki froze in his footsteps, his blood running cold. He turned around slowly. "I... I hadn't thought of that."

Frigga smiled at Loki. "It occurred to me after my last visit. I see the way you look at each other. His loss would crush you. I only told your father, because he knows of solutions that only he has access to."

Loki inhaled sharply. "An apple?"

Odin smiled. "Precisely."

Loki was actually touched. A golden apple of immortality was hard to come by, even for the Allfather. Unless they were bluffing, they had actually gotten an apple for Tony. Loki was confused at the motive behind such a notion.

"Why? I'm flattered immensely, and I'm sure Anthony would be too, but why would you seek that which would only keep me around longer?" Loki questioned, his eyes searching Odin's face for lies.

"The world relies on balance, my son," Odin began, standing up. Loki rolled his eyes. He was in for a speech. "Fire needs ice. Water needs air. Kindness needs cruelty," he turns to the raven haired trickster. "Chaos needs calm. Anthony Stark brings out a side of you that the realms desperately need. A side that will save the realms from your need to inflict criminal mischief and cruelty upon them. I fear for the nine realms what would happen if you ever lost that which makes you whole, which is why I have sought out a golden apple of immortality." Odin turned to Frigga. "Your mother and I have also decided that, because of your affliction, you and Anthony are to be married."

Well, damn. Loki was not expecting that last bit. His jaw dropped slightly. Honestly, Loki should've seen it coming. He was a Prince of Asgard. His past was being forgiven and possibly rewritten. Becoming pregnant before marriage, at least in past princesses cases, resulted in marriage to the father of the child. He was not opposed to the idea of marrying Tony, but so soon? 

"We understand that this will require time to adjust to the idea," Frigga spoke up. "We will allow for two months planning and adjusting. You will be married sometime in July."

Loki laughed tensely. "A summer wedding? How appropriate. Marry the frost giant off in the midst of the hottest midgardian season."

Frigga scoffed. "Loki, please. Summer weddings are symbolic of fortune and good luck. Winter weddings have often been the symbol of bad luck and tragedy."

Loki was not all that happy about getting married in the heat, but at least Tony would be at his side the entire time. Gods, this seemed too surreal.

"We will let you go get settled," Odin told him. "Thor has shown Anthony to your old chambers. Seeing as the damage has already been done, I don't see a reason preventing you from sharing a room."

That struck a nerve and Loki recalled Odin's earlier words. "Damage? Affliction? Are you implying that the child growing inside of me is some parasitic disease?" 

Frigga noticed Loki's rage quickly building and rushed over to sooth his worries. "Now you know that is not what he means Loki." She wrapped an arm around his shoulder and began leading him out of the throne room.

Loki sighed. "I know, mother but it's not entirely my fault. Had I known about Jötun anatomy..." he trailed off.

"I know, Love, I know." She pressed a kiss to the side of her youngest sons head. "Worry not. You will get through this, and everything will turn out ok."

Loki believe his mother. She always had a touch of seeing into the future. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, my son. Now go. Tell Anthony of our plans. I'm sure his ego could use a good stroke to know that he'll be a prince of Asgard by marriage," Frigga joked.

Loki barked out a laugh and began down the hall toward his chamber. Frigga watched him go with tears of happiness welling up in her eyes. It'd been a long time to see her youngest so happy.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey, Thor!" Tony asked once the door to the throne room shut. "Do you think it was a good idea leaving Loki in there alone?"

Thor smiled down at Tony, "Worry not, Man of Iron. Mother would not allow any harm to come to Loki. Remember, she is the reason he was brought back into your life."

Thor had a point. Odin just gave Tony a bad vibe. Maybe it was from all of the shit he heard from Loki's end of things. He didn't seem so horrible, but Tony wasn't one to judge on first appearance alone. At least not anymore.

"This is the room you will be sharing with Loki for the weekend," Thor told his friend, opening the door. "Should you need anything, I will be across the hall. That goes for both of you."

"Thanks buddy," Tony said, walking into the room. 

Loki's room was covered in books. On every self, there was a book. The curtains were green, in typical Loki fashion. A they matched the emerald green of Loki's bed spread. Gold was also a dominate color. Then again, gold was the dominate color everywhere in Asgard. 

Thor was going to close the door when Tony spoke up. "You know he loves you, right?"

Thor froze, blinking slowly. "I'm sorry?"

"Loki," Tony supplied. "Don't be so easily fooled by how he avoids you. "

Thor gave him a sad smile. "I wish I could believe you, Tony." 

"Thor," Tony said, laying a hand on Thor's shoulder. "Trust me, ok? I know Loki the best."

Thor laughed. "While that is true, I still have a hard time believing it."

"Don't take things so personally, Point Break," Tony advised. 

"I will attempt," Thor told him, and left the room.

Tony sighed and flopped face first onto Loki's bed. The bed was so fluffy and comfortable, it felt like sleeping on clouds....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Loki returned to his chambers, the first thing he saw was Tony sprawled out, face down, on his bed. The trip must've exhausted the inventor, because he was out like a light. Loki chuckled and crawled onto his bed, careful to not disturb Tony (not yet, at least). He wrapped an arm around Tony's waist, pulling him close, and snuggled his face into the crook of Tony's neck. 

"Mmm? Loki?" Tony sleepily asked the warm body holding him.

"Hello, darling," Loki whispered, capturing Tony's lips with his own. 

Tony smiled into the kiss and leaned in to deepen it. Loki reacted by opening up for Tony's tongue to slip past his own. Tony rolled over slightly, pressing the trickster into the mattress.

"Tony wait," Loki breathed, breaking the kiss. Tony groaned at the loss of contact. "There's something important I need to tell you."

Tony sat back on his legs, and looked down at Loki. "Alright, shoot."

Loki also sat up, Indian style, so that their knees were touching. Loki reached out and took both of Tony's hands in his own. He spread their hands so both were palm to palm.

"Odin wanted to speak to me alone, because he needed to discuss what would happen if you were to pass," Loki began, rotating his hands against Tony, like the planets around the sun. "There's only one truly effective way of making a mortal immortal."

"Loki, I-" Tony began.

"Let me finish," Loki commanded. "Anyway, this way is hard to come by, even for the Allfather, but somehow, Odin has managed it. Have you ever heard about the golden apples of immortality?"

Tony was shocked. Immortal had a nice ring to it, but damn, he was not expecting that. The thought of him dying hadn't even crossed his mind lately. If he were honest with himself, the thought of Loki alone without him made his heart clench in pain. These apples, however, did sound familiar.

"Yeah, I vaguely remember reading about them," Tony answered.

"They give equal life span to the two who share the apple. The first to take a bite determines the years to be gained. The second to take a bite gains the lives," Loki explained, moving his hands so they lined up with Tony's again. "Odin has acquired one of these apples for us to share. How do you feel about this?" Loki looked up from their hands to Tony's eyes. 

Tony surged forward and stole a kiss from Loki's lips. "I think that's a wonderful way to spend eternity, by your side," he whispered, breaking this sudden kiss.

Loki smiled bright, "Then you'll be pleased to hear that they have already begun to plan a summer wedding for us. We are due to be married in July."

Tony's jaw dropped. "A wedding?"

Loki laughed. "Yes, Darling, a wedding. Flowers, and cakes, ceremony and dancing. All in the midst of the hottest month."

Tony let out a laugh. "They couldn't let you be slightly comfortable and let us marry in the cooler months?"

Loki shook his head. "Mother insists that it's bad luck. How do you feel about this?"

Tony smiled slyly, leaning in to steal another kiss, "Truth be told, I never saw myself getting married. But I also never saw myself falling in love with the Norse god of mischief, who's pregnant with my child."

Loki snorted. "Surely you had to have seen that coming."

"Not at all," Tony smiled. "If it'll make your parents and Asgard happy to have a big white wedding, then let's do it. If I have a choice, I'd say let's take a road trip to Vegas."

Loki laughed, pulling Tony in. "Ever the romantic, Anthony."

Tony pressed his lips to the tricksters, "Only for you Loki."


	12. Genesis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this is waaaay over due. last week got crazy with graduation and shit I was too stressed to even think. so all this week I've been writing this because it's comic con weekend (HELL YEAAAAHHH!!!!) and I wanna get this to y'all before then.
> 
> most of this chapter is explanation, but there's a little something something at the end ;)
> 
> enjoy :)
> 
> p.s. I use a lot of creative license with the golden apples, and the date stamps. The snow storm tony talks about is the one that slammed the East Coast around valentines day. Philadelphia got buried, but I'm 85% sure NYC got it worse.
> 
> it's the beginning to middle of March in the story right now

The next day brought a lazy morning complete with a lot of lazy morning kisses and some lazy morning sex. The pair stayed in bed until Thor literally came busting down the door, welding a huge smile and Mjölnir.

"Good morning!" the blond thunderer bellowed. "'Tis a lovely day out! There is much to be done today, much to be seen!" Thor exclaimed as he crossed the room and threw open the curtains.

Loki groaned tiredly. "You oaf! If you touch one more curtain I will slice your hand off!"

Thor grinned at his brother and shouted, "No you won't!" and threw open the last curtain.

"That's it! Say goodbye to your left hand!" Loki exclaimed, jumping up on the bed and gingerly running over Tony. He jumped onto the headboard and flipped over the dresser, kicking Thor onto his stomach. Loki landed on Thor's back.

The two brothers began to wrestle like they used to as children, until Tony stood up and dragged Loki away. 

"Stop picking on Thor! You shouldn't be wrestling anyway. What if something happens to the baby?" Tony asked plopping Loki onto a chair and looking at him sternly.

Loki glared at Thor. Thor sat up on the floor, laughing.

"Apologies, Stark," Thor began. "I meant no harm. Just a bit of childish fun."

Tony sighed. "It's ok big guy."

Thor rose. "Well, I will let you two get ready. Breakfast will be served in 15 minutes. After that mother wishes to meet with both of you in the library."

"Thank you, Thor," Tony said, closing the door behind Thor. He turned back to Loki. "Impressive moves, I must say."

Loki broke out into a grin. "I had been training with Lady Romanov for some time, before you got me 'knocked up'. In secret, of course. She had wanted to know something's about magic and I wanted to learn some of her combat moves."

"I knew that move looked familiar!" Tony grinned, walking over to the chair Loki was sitting at. 

He stopped in front of his favorite trickster and ran a hand through Loki's dark hair. Loki leaned into the touch. 

"We should get ready," Tony whispered, brushing the tangles out of Loki's hair with his hand.

Loki chuckled. "Always thinking with your stomach."

Tony smiled down at his lover. "That's how I think best!"

Loki laughed and stood up. As he rose, a dull ache in his lower abdomen suddenly gripped him. He faltered slightly, leaning heavily on Tony. Tony looked at Loki, concerned flooding his face.

"I'm fine," Loki muttered. 

"Really, because that looked like it hurt," Tony told him.

Loki took a deep, steadying breath and stood up straight. The ache had passed. Loki let out the breath he was holding. 

"I'm fine, Anthony. It has passed," Loki assured him, shifting his weight off of Tony.

"Ok. If you say so," Tony said, still looking concerned.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Breakfast was pretty uneventful. No one really said much of anything, which was fine by Tony. Better to have silence then arguing. Once breakfast was over, Frigga led Loki and Tony to the library. The library in the palace was probably one of the biggest that Tony has ever seen. Washingon DC could learn a thing or two.

"I used to spend days in here," Loki whispered in confession to Tony. "It has always felt calming and safe in here."

"Remind me to take you to the Libaray of Congress one day. It's not as luxiourous but its close," Tony whispered back.

Frigga stopped by a table in the back corner and motioned for the two men to come over. There was already a stack of books on the table, waiting to be read.

Loki pulled out the chair next to his mother and Tony sat on his left.

"I brought you two here for research. Now here's a stack of books," she said, pushing the stack toward the pair. "I'll help out."

Tony picked up the top book and looked at it. His face screwed up when he realized it was written in Asgardian. "What exactly are we researching?"

Frigga waved a hand over the cover of the book and the words shifted into english.   
"Jotün pregnancy?" Tony asked, reading the cover.

Loki groaned beside him and let his head drop to the table with a thud. Tony reached over and rubbed his back comfortingly.

"You both need to know all the basics of a Jotün pregnancy, so you know what to expect," Frigga explained. "One interesting fact I found," she stood and grabbed a book on the shelf behind her. "'Jotun, unlike the Aesir and mortals, only have a five month pregnacy.' I thought you should know that," she read from the book. She put it back on the shelf and sat back down.

Tony's mind starting doing the math right away. "How far along is Loki?"

Frigga gave her son a look and Loki sighed, giving her both of his hands. A golden glow enveloped him, much like the glow Frigga put over Natasha earlier in the week. Also, like Nat's glow, it intensified over Loki's lower abdomen. The event only lasted a few seconds. Frigga released Loki's hands.

"You're about three weeks along, love," she told him, giving her son a warm, proud smile.  
Tony's mind calculated the math right away. "Ok. So this means that you're due in July, because three weeks ago was Febuary."

Loki smiled slyly, "Three weeks ago was that massive snow storm."

Tony burst out laughing. "Oh my god! It was, wasn't it? Didn't Clint and I say there would be so many pregant people this year because of the storm? Power outages forcing people to keep warm some how. Oh my god!" 

Loki gave him a fond smile. "I'm glad this amuses you so much."

"It's just so ironic because Clint and I are both going to be fathers, but three weeks ago we wouldn't have guessed it," Tony explained, trying to contain his laughter.

Frigga chuckled at her future son-in-law's story. "Irony is the universe being mischievous."

Tony suddenly stopped laughing and looked accusingly at Loki. Loki glared at him. "Don't look at me like that."

"I'm only joking," Tony smiled, lightly shoving Loki a bit. "Mr. Mischievous."

"Do you want that ACDC rag of a shirt back?" Loki asked pointedly, referring to the suitcase he disappeared into a dimension.

Tony's jaw dropped. "It's not a rag!" he looked away from the table, and rubbed his nose. "Yeah I want it back."

Loki smiled triumphantly. "Thought so."

Frigga cleared her throat, "If you two are finished, there's much to learn today. Let's get started."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The afternoon passed rather quickly, once engrossed in the books. By the time that dinner came rolling around. Loki had learned more then enough about his pregnancy. In a few days, he would start showing a baby bump. After that he'll rapidly grow, because of the shortness of Jötun pregnancies. Probably by the time May or June hits, his body will force itself out of Aesir form and stay Jötun until the baby is born. Tony was already working on designs to submerge the penthouse into a deep freeze for Loki. Tony felt better with all this knowledge. He felt a hell of a lot more prepared then he did a few days ago. Loki on the other hand, remained quiet for the duration of the evening.

"Hey," Tony began, once back in Loki's chambers. "Are you ok? Cause if you're not, just tell me."

Loki sighed and flopped down onto the bed. "This is just a lot to take in. Five months and I need to change form for two of them. I despise my Jötun form more then anything."

Tony came over and sat beside his lover, and he began to rub his back comfortingly. "It'll be ok. I'm with you every step of the way."

Loki looked up with angry tears in his eyes. "How can you be so optimistic?! How can you even stand to look at me and tell me it will be ok, when you know a monster lives under my skin?!"

Tony grabbed Loki's face between his hands. "Hey! Hey! Look at me. I love you, ok. You are not a monster. Sure, you've done bad things. But don't forget that my body count could match yours. My past is just as red as yours. Everything will be ok."

Loki blinked away his tears, as Tony wiped away the ones that fell. Tony was right, he had to be right. Who in their right mind would stick to a so called monster the way Tony did. Loki was pretty sure that Tony would buy him a Hawaiian island, if he asked. That thought made Loki chuckle.

Tony beamed, hearing his trickster laugh. "Now the question is, will you love me when I'm no longer young and beautiful?"

Loki laughed and playfully shoved Tony away. "You and your pop culture references will be the death of me."

Tony smirked and placed a hand on Loki'a cheek, leaning in for a kiss, when Thor burst into the room. Tony dropped Loki's face with a sigh, much to Loki's chagrin. 

"I am sorry for interrupting so rudely," Thor apologized. "But mother wishes to know when you two first met."

"What?" Tony asked, completely at a loss.

"The very very first time or after all of that non-sense?" Loki asked.

"Why don't you just come with me," Thor offered, with a knowing smile.

The pair followed Thor into a small room off of the side of the Throne room. It was probably a study for the king, because it was too large to be a storage closet. Frigga was sitting at a table in the center of the room, stitching a golden thread into a gold apple. 

'Right,' Tony thought. 'Immortality.'

"When did you two meet for the very first time?" Frigga asked, not looking up from her work. 

"Uhh... it was in Germany," Tony offered, racking his brain for a date.

Loki smiled in memory. "It was around April of 2012."

Tony looked at him, completely baffled. "How did you even remember that? I barely remember what I had for breakfast."

"Sir, you had a traditional Asgardian meal," JARVIS chimed from Tony's pocket, where his phone was.

Tony jumped, not expecting JARVIS to be working, let alone listening. Loki snickered.

"Alright, that should do it," Frigga said, snipping a thread off of the apple. 

The stitching was beautiful. Tony had no idea what it said, because it appeared to be runes. Frigga waved a hand over the apple and the stitching faded into scaring along the skin.

"Thor, I wish for you to remain as witness," Frigga told her eldest son.

"I would be honored," Thor told her.

Frigga walk around the table and stood between Tony and Loki, holding the apple up with one hand. 

"Normally Odin would be the one to do this, but he is otherwise engaged," Frigga explained. She cleared her throat and looked to Tony. "Anthony Stark, a citizen of Midgard. Do you consent to the consuming of this apple, so that your years will match those of Loki's?"

Tony's eyes flicked to Loki, who was focused on Frigga, then back to the queen. "I consent."

"Loki Odinson," Frigga began. The last name made Loki twitch. "Prince of Asgard. Do you consent to the consuming of this apple, and allowing it to match Anthony's years to yours?"

Loki looked Tony dead in the eyes, "I consent."

Tony gave him a little smile.

Frigga beamed, "Wonderful! Ok, Loki you take the first bite. Then Tony, take a bite from the opposite side." She handed the apple to Loki and took a step back.

Loki took a decent sized chunk out of the apple, and chewed it slowly. The runes began to glow, as he handed it to Tony. Tony took a bite from the apple, a little hesitantly. He wasn't quite expecting it to taste so wonderful. The runes glowed blindingly bright for a few seconds, then the light reached out and engulfed Tony. The apple dissolved into a shimmer of gold, and flew around Tony's head, before flying up Tony's nose. The inventor sneezed and stumbled backwards slightly. The golden glow around his body died out, but it began to mix with the blue glow coming from the arc reactor. In a few seconds, the glow vanished under the arc reactor. Tony looked up at Loki, who was smiling. Frigga and Thor beamed at him.

"Congratulations, Tony! You're now immortal," Frigga told him, giving him a hug.

She was overjoyed at the love Tony and Loki shared. She never thought Loki would find someone to make him whole, but he did. Frigga couldn't be more proud of his choice.

Tony laughed and looked at Thor. "So does this make me like Cap? I can take a shank in the side and still be ok?"

The thunderer laughed heartily. "I would not suggest purposely seeking out a reason to be stabbed, but yes it will be like a scratch to you."

"If you purposely try to test it out, I assure you, I will make your life hell," Loki told him, seriously.

"When was the last time I did something reckless?" Tony asked, turning toward Loki. 

"Before you became a permeant part of my life? I promise I won't do anything stupid, I was just wondering."

Loki nodded in approval.

"Ok, you may all return to your chambers," Frigga told the group, ushering them from the room. "Tomorrow is your last day of this mini vacation. The Allfather wishes to make a public announcement of the weddings."

Thor and Loki groaned in unison. Tony stopped short, one letter catching his attention.

"Weddings?" he asked.

"Oh!" Thor exclaimed, clapping a hand on Tony's back. "I have forgotten to tell you! I have asked the lady Jane to marry me, and she said yes!"

Tony really should've seen that one coming. "Congrats, point break! Is that why you were late yesterday?"

Thor looked down sheepishly, "Aye. The Allfather wishes us to be married a few weeks after you and Loki are to be married."

Tony opened his mouth.

"Don't," Loki warned. "Don't you dare suggest what I know you are about to suggest."

Tony smiled slyly at Loki. "What? I was just going to say that the Asgardians are going to be partying all month."

Loki glared hard at Tony, knowing full well that wasn't were his train of thought was headed.

The group came to a stop in front of the two rooms. 

"Well, I will see you two tomorrow morn," Thor said, waving goodnight to the couple, disappearing into his room.

Loki opened the door to their room and Tony followed closely behind him. Loki shut the door and grabbed Tony by the wrist, flinging him against the door, pinning him their.

"So," Tony began, swallowing hard against Loki's intense gaze.

"So?" Loki echoed in a soft voice.

"Looks like your stuck with me for an eternity," Tony said softly, eyes darting from Loki's eyes to his lips.

"So it would seem," Loki whispered.

"Who needs Jesus when you have a god on his knees right now?" Loki whispered seductively slipping to his knees.

"What?" Tony asked, a little confused from being so lost in Loki. "Oh! Fuck!" Tony hit his head against the door. 

Tony heard a small chuckle coming from Loki and he moaned. "You will be the death of me, I swear," Tony confessed, running a hand through Loki's raven black hair.

"Wouldn't that be a way to go?" Loki asked, looking up at Tony with half lidded eyes, and a smirk playing on his lips.

Tony's response was stolen from his lips with a surprised gasp as Loki swallowed him down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title was inspired by the Grimes song Genesis.


	13. I Wanna Kiss You (You Fucking Mother Fucker)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flashback chapter!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to throw in a flashback chapter, because the next chapter is a bit sad.
> 
> so enjoy this cute flashback to Loki & Tony's first kiss :D
> 
> title inspired by a lyric from Lovegame (by Lady Gaga) and the song You Fucking Mother Fucker (by muse).
> 
> enjoy :D

It'd been a month since Loki came to the tower. Tony hadn't seen much of the trickster, save for the shelter he had provided for him that one morning. Occasionally, Tony would run into Loki in the small kitchenette on the penthouse floor. They didn't say much to each other. Tony would crack a joke or two, comment about the weather, or bitch to JARVIS about Steve or Clint. Loki would give Tony a small smile and observe his mannerisms.

On this particular morning, however, Loki was lounging out on the couch in the Penthouse, reading a book. Judging by the font, Tony concluded that Loki had found his Lord of the Rings books. Tony couldn't tell which book it was, but Loki was deeply focused on it. 

"Clint's definitely a Legolas, isn't he?" Tony asked, reaching into the fridge to grab a bottle of water.

His voice startled Loki. "I didn't hear you come in." He stood to let Tony have the shared space to himself.

Tony waved him back to the couch. "Stay. You look like you're enjoying yourself." He plopped himself down in the chair perpendicular to the couch. 

Loki cautiously sat back down on the couch, curling against a pillow. "I was. This book is quite interesting."

Tony looked at the book on the table and saw that it was the first book in the series. "Whose your favorite so far? You know they made those books into movies? Really good movies, I might add. They also turned The Hobbit into a three part movie. So far those are really good too. You should watch them sometime."

"Do you always ramble on when you are nervous?" Loki asked bluntly, cutting Tony off.

Tony snapped his jaw shut and unscrewed the bottle cap. "I'm not nervous," he muttered.

Loki just smirked at him and picked the book up again, quickly losing himself in the world of Middle Earth. Tony watched him read, as he lost himself in thoughts. He tried for days and weeks to shake off the initial attraction to Loki, and he ended up chalking it up to desperation because Pepper wouldn't let him ruin his new fond image with cheap women. Tony certainly wasn't going to go after anyone on the team, they were like family! With Loki now on the scene as a non member of the avengers, however, that made him fresh meat. 

Tony's mind quickly began down that slippery slope of Loki fantasies, when he stumbled upon a thought he hadn't thought up before. An image of Loki tied up and gaged, writhing around on a bed, flashed into Tony's mind. It only lasted a few seconds, but the impact had already happened. Tony shook his head, ridding his mind of the image. He took a sip of water, looking like he had just witnessed war flashbacks. Loki raised an eyebrow at him, when another thought occurred to Tony.

'Shit. If he's all magical and mischievous, can he read minds?' Tony thought. 'Hey Loki! If you can hear me, cough once.'

Loki coughed. Tony froze, eyes wide, staring at the god. Loki didn't look up, but smiled and flipped the page.

'That fucking mother fucker,' Tony thought. 'He can totally read minds.'

Tony tuned his thoughts toward more PG things, like an update for JARVIS, fixing up the suit, how to fuck with Clint's arrows, maybe putting itching powder in Steve's uniform as payback for calling his tower ugly, Loki bent over the counter screaming Tony's name.

'Wait, WHAT?!' Tony internally screamed. 'Nonononono.' He rubbed a hand over his face and slunk down further into the chair.

Loki was staring at him now with a curious expression, trying to read Tony's thoughts like a book.

Tony avoided eye contact. 'There's no way he can read thoughts, right? That's gotta be a violation of basic human rights that even he would respect.'

Tony tried in vain to turn his thoughts back down the path of righteousness, but dirty thoughts about Loki kept cropping up. Tony groaned and slid out of his chair, walking toward the elevator. He needed to go for a run, clear his mind a bit.

"Going so soon?" Loki questioned, smirking behind his book.

'Don't answer, Tony. Just get on that elevator and go for a run, maybe with Cap. Think of anything but him,' Tony encouraged himself.

The elevator doors dinged open and Tony moved to go forward. 

"I can read thoughts, if you are so desperate to know. It's not something I do often, but I was feeling curious today," Loki confessed, with a mischievous grin. "And my, did I see a lot of interesting things."

Tony's jaw dropped as the elevator doors shut. 

"Enjoy your run, Anthony," Loki purred just before the doors shut completely.

Tony slammed his head on the metal doors and the elevator descended. He was completely and utterly fucked.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Tony returned from his run, he had his ear buds in. He was rocking out, with his eyes closed, to his favorite song. He looked around the living area and didn't see Loki. He assumed the god had gone back to his room. Tony jammed his way into the kitchenette for another bottle of water when he froze in his tracks, music still blasting through the ear buds. Loki was bent over the sink, trying to get something that he dropped down the drain, his ass up in the air.

Tony swallowed hard, and ripped his ear buds out of his ears. 'Fuck.'

He was frozen in time, staring at Loki. He blinked twice and realized that he should probably go before thing got awkward. He slowly, quietly started retreating. He was almost to the hallway when he turned around, and JARVIS chimed in.

"Sir, Agent Coulson is on the line."

Tony swore under his breath, as Loki popped up out of the sink quickly.

"Put him on the screen, J."

"I thought I'd killed him," Loki whispered, coming to stand behind Tony. He was curious to see if the man still lived.

Tony rolled his eyes, but didn't bother shooing him away.

"Mr. Stark," Coulson said, his face coming on screen.

"To what do I owe the pleasure," Tony asked sarcastically.

"Am I interrupting something?" the agent asked.

Tony, perplexed, looked back at Loki, who shrugged. Then it occurred to Tony. Loki's face was flushed from being basically down the sink drain for a decent amount of time, and Tony was all sweaty from his run. 

He gave a small chuckle, "This isn't what it looks like."

Coulson sat back in his chair and crossed his arms, "Oh?"

"Well you see," Tony began.

"I'm sorry Agent Coulson," Loki interrupted, throwing Tony a sly grin. "But if you don't mind, Anthony actually does have something he needs to finish. I will make sure he calls you back later this evening." Loki waved his hand over the screen, ending the call.

Tony stared at him with large, shocked eyes. "What the fucking fuck?! This evening?! You know he's going to think we were doing something inappropriate, and then he's gunna tell Fury, and I'm going to get my ass handed to me for 'Sleeping With the Enemy', which I am not! That thought never crossed my mind! All because you chose that exact moment to stir up a little mischief!?"

"You are a horrible liar, Anthony," Loki said, moving back toward the sink. He obviously hadn't found what he was looking for. "You cannot lie to the God of Lies."

Tony gapped, "I thought you were the God of Mischief?"

"And lies, and chaos," Loki informed him, reaching into the drain again. "It's a package deal."

"Package deal, my ass," Tony mumbled to himself. "What are you even looking for? And what do you mean, horrible liar?"

Loki's eyes lit up as he grabbed what he had dropped. "Ta da!" he exclaimed, yanking his arm out of the drain.

Tony came around the counter to look at what Loki was holding in his palm. It looked like a small red gem stone.

"What is it?" Tony asked, staring at the sparkling stone.

"It's a ruby," Loki told him. "My mother had gotten it for me when I was a child. She says it's good luck and good fortune. It was on a pendent but it got snagged in my hair. When I untangled it, the chain broke and the stone went right down the drain."

"Bummer. At least you got the stone back!" Tony said, trying to be optimistic. "Did you know that rubies are the July birthstone? They are also much more valuable then the diamond, but a lot of people don't know that."

"You talk a lot," Loki commented, stepping closer toward Tony.

"I do?" Tony asked sarcastically. "Huh. Maybe I just like hearing the sound of my own voice. I've been told it's really sexy."

Loki chuckled darkly, and took another step toward invading Tony's personal space. "I didn't think your narcissism ran that deep. That you must constantly be hearing yourself speak. I wonder..."

Tony swallowed hard as Loki invaded his space, but he didn't back away. "You wonder what?" he asked.

Loki moved forward again, forcing Tony's hips to make contact with the counter top's edge. "I wonder what else that mouth can do, besides talk incessantly."

Tony swallowed hard again, unable to come up with a witty response. Loki was too close, Tony felt like he was drowning. His eyes flicked down to Loki's lips, then back up to his eyes.

Loki leaned forward, so that his lips were almost brushing Tony's. "You know," he whispered, huskily. "I read your mind this morning. Those thoughts you say that have never crossed your mind, have crossed it, because I read them. You are a horrible liar, Anthony. You're mind and body betray you. I know you want me. I can see it in the way your eyes dilate, and I can see the fantasies you hold in your mind."

Tony swallowed hard once again, his cheeks flushing. He tried to back up more, but the counter dug into his back. He averted Loki's intense gaze.

"Why not give some truth to the rumors Agent Coulson is likely to spread?" Loki asked, forcing Tony to look him in the eyes.

Tony cracked and closed the gap between him and Loki. Loki grinned into the kiss, opening his mouth for Tony. Tony melted into Loki's mouth. They continued on like this for a while getting lost in the taste of each other. It had been so long for both of them, since they'd had anyone show affection like this. Longer for Loki then Tony, more then likely. The effect was still the same however.

Clint, the poor soul, chose this exact moment to come up to the penthouse and bother tony about something.

"Hey, Tony," Clint said walking into the room. "I need more arrow heads. The explosive ones are always-" he stopped short upon finding the pair entangled. "fun."

Loki jumped at the sound of Clint's voice and pulled himself off of Tony, looking away embarrassed. Tony was so lost in the moment, he was confused as to why Loki stopped, then he saw Clint.

"Oh, hi!" Tony offered weakly.

Clint's mouth tugged up into a twisted little smile. 

"So," Tony began. "You want explosive arrow heads?"

"WAIT UNTIL I TELL THOR!!" Clint burst out and fled to the stair case, almost literally flying down them.

"FUCK YOU, LEGOLAS!!" Tony shouted after the hawk.

Loki chuckled as Tony let his head fall heavily against the counter top.

"Thor is going to kill me," Tony whispered. "I'm a dead man. JARVIS, tell Steve he can have all the kitchen equipment. Don't let Clint or Natasha near my lab. Only Bruce is allowed to have it."

"I'll make the note, sir," JARVIS replied.

Tony groaned, "Even my AI thinks I'm a dead man."

Loki chuckled again, moving to rub Tony's back soothingly. "I will not let him harm you, Anthony. What I do in my life should be of little concern to Thor. Besides which, I was having too much fun to watch it end so fast," Loki whispered in Tony's ear.

Tony groaned and let his head hit the counter again. He was so fucked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a side note: I have the rest of this story pretty much mapped out. (now I just need to write it all xD) I should be updating every week. I can't promise a certain day though, because my weeks vary and such. 
> 
> hopefully this will be wrapped up before the summer is over :)


	14. Far Too Young Too Die

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> back to present time. it's about March 17 in the story (a week after the weekend in Asgard)

It was almost a week after the trip to Asgard. Tony shot awake when an ice cold hand reached out for him. His sleepiness was erased after looking over to Loki's side of the bed. The trickster was blue from head to toe and shivering intensely. Then Tony felt it. A cold puddle of blood that was pooling beneath Loki. Tony jumped out of bed and ran to Thor's room, yelling at JARVIS to crank up the AC. Thor came running to Loki's side minutes later. Before Tony could ask any questions, Thor told him he needed to get Frigga and he would be back in 10 minutes. Tony's face was wrecked with worry, as he came and sat at Loki's side. He ran his fingers through Loki's icy black hair, picking out the ice. He was so worried. Loki couldn't speak, only shake and look at Tony pleadingly.

Frigga came in less then 10 minutes, running into the bedroom behind Thor. She quickly looked over Loki and turned to Thor, telling him that he and Tony needed to leave. Tony tried to protest but Thor just laid a hand on his shoulder, and turned him toward the hall. Tony leaned up against the wall, slid down it, and fell apart. Steve and Clint came running around the corner, sweaty from their early morning training. They looked at Thor, who just shook his head solemnly. Bruce appeared a few minutes later with Natasha. Both sat against the wall, on either side of Tony, trying to comfort him. Natasha pulled Tony's head toward her and sang him a lullaby in Russian. Tony couldn't help but think of the worst. 

After about an hour later, Frigga emerged from the room looking exhausted and a little bit sad. She was surprised to see the avengers gathered in the hall. It warmed her heart a bit to know that this ragtag group of so called super heroes cared about what happened to Loki and Tony. They needed that.

"I would like to speak with Tony alone," she requested. 

Cap and Thor nodded, motioning for the rest to follow. Natasha was the last to leave, giving Tony a big comforting hug. Tony stood before the queen.

"How is he?" Tony asked in a small voice.

"He's fine," Frigga told him. "Come with me," she commanded, and walked toward the kitchenette in the penthouse. She sat down on the couch and patted the seat next to her. "Sit with me for a bit."

Tony sat down.

Frigga took a deep breath, "I have good news and bad news. Which would you like first?"

Tony shrugged, " Give me the bad first I guess."

Frigga nodded, "Loki lost a child."

Tony choked on his tears. He knew it. He could feel it in his bones. Frigga laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"But," she began. "Loki was expecting twins. Only one passed away."

What? Everything in Tony's emotional spectrum screamed at him with confusion. Was that even possible for one twin to die and the other to not die? Tony look so confused, his emotions canceled each other out.

"It's actually more common then you would think," Frigga said, trying to comfort Tony. "You're still going to have a healthy baby girl, Tony."

"It's... its a girl?" Tony asked.

"It is. Loki's fast approaching his first month," Frigga told him.

"Do you," Tony began, choking back some tears. "Do you know what the other one was supposed to be?"

Frigga shook her head. "I do not. I suspect a girl, but it's possible it could've been a boy. I understand this is a shock to then system and will take some time to heal over. Greve for that which you have lost, and celebrate that which you still have. That little girl is one tough cookie."

Tony laughed, despite his tears, "Maybe we should name her Natasha."

Frigga smiled warmly. "You have many months to figure out a worthy name. Now then, go see him. He's going to need you more then anything else. I've cleaned up the mess and changed out the sheets."

Tony nodded, "Thank you so much, Frigga."

Frigga smiled at him and watched him walk toward the bedroom. Just before Tony turned the handle he turned back toward the queen.

"Can you tell the avengers what happened? I'm not sure I can," Tony requested.

"Of course."

Tony slowly opened the door and walked in, closing the door behind him.

"Hey," he offered weakly. 

Loki was back to his Asgardian form, but far too pale. He looked up at Tony with tears streaming down his face. This wasn't supposed to happen. Tony quickly came over and crawled under the covers, tucking Loki's head under his chin. He held him there while Loki let the sadness consume him. Silent tears ran down Tony's face, dropping into Loki's hair. Loki's silent sobs shook him to the core. This wasn't supposed to happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter title inspired by the Panic! at the Disco song
> 
> (yeah i know I've been getting cheesy with song titles but music is a huge chunk of my soul and I have a lot of time to kill so I connect songs with ships and stories :P)


	15. Sugar, Spice, and a Dash of Pepper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> introducing the fabulous Pepper Potts!
> 
> i felt like the media needed to be a part of this story, because realistically... they would be.
> 
> this is kind of a buffer chapter before some more heavy stuff.
> 
> Enjoy :)

Being CEO of a big weapons turned clean energy company, like Stark Industries, is no walk in the park. Most men would cry or quit if they had to deal with the genius behind the scenes as much as one Pepper Potts did. No one handled the job with the grace that Pepper did. She could put Steve Jobs to shame.

 

But on this certain day where she woke up late with no coffee, her hair wasn't falling into place, she had to squeeze herself into an outfit that had shrunk in the wash, and she broke a heel on the way into the office - Pepper was at the end of her rope. So, of course, walking into her office and seeing Happy sitting on a chair in front of her desk holding a newspaper explaining that she needed to see this, pushed Pepper over the very sharp edge she was walking along today.

 

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?!" Pepper shouted, alarming a few people outside of the office with her explicit outburst. Pepper wasn't one to curse.

 

Happy cringed and shrunk back. "It's the latest headlines on the entertainment section of the New York Times," he whispered.

 

The front page of the section showed a picture of Tony and Loki on the roof of Stark Tower. Tony had his arms around Loki's waist and his head in Loki's chest. Loki had shades on in the picture, thank god. The last thing Pepper needed was for the world to realize Tony was fucking the guy who tries to destroy a beloved city. What got Pepper so angry was the headline: "Iron Man Finds Iron Boy!" 

 

"You have to admit the headline is kind of funny," Happy offered weakly.

 

Pepper shot him with such a glare Happy slunk toward the door. Pepper groaned and rubbed a hand over her face. "Get me Jim from PR. We need to deal with this right now. JARVIS call the house."

 

"Mr. Stark is currently still in New York, Miss Potts," JARVIS chimed in, as Happy nodded and fled the room quickly.

 

"Then call the tower! Tell Tony this is an emergency. Lie to him if it gets his ass out of bed," Pepper snapped at the AI, sighing and flopping down into her chair.

 

When Tony handed the reigns over to Pepper, he installed JARVIS in her office as a thank you gift. Pepper found that Jarvis's company was more comforting then not. He was also more then helpful. She didn't even need a PA.

 

"Pepper are you ok? This isn't a really good time right now," Tony's voice came from the ceiling speakers. His voice sounded rough, like he had swallowed stones. Or he had been crying all night.

 

Pepper's motherly side flicked on. "Yeah I'm fine. Are you ok?"

 

She heard a muffled "I'll be right back, ok?" and Tony picked up his Stark phone. Pepper heard a click signaling the call had been switched over and other softer click, like a door being closed on the other side.

 

"Tony?" she asked again. 

 

"Hang on, Pep," Tony choked as he walked down the stairs to his lab.

 

Tony had reached his lab floor, shut and locked the door, then collapsed on spot, his back against the glass door. "I'm not ok."

 

Pepper picked up the phone on her desk. "Tony what's wrong? What happened? Is it something with Loki?" worry evident in every word. It was so rare for her to hear her best friend admit that things weren't ok. Whatever had happened had been really bad.

 

"It's," Tony began, choking on his words. "It's Loki."

 

Pepper began typing up an email to Happy, asking him to get the jet ready. Pepper felt like Tony was going to need a comforting shoulder to cry on.

 

"What happened? Is the baby ok?" Pepper asked, moving her mouse to the send button, but not clicking it yet.

 

Tony got choked up again. "Yeah. He uh... he lost one of them."

 

Pepper felt a tug on her heart. Tony had been so excited! A chance to prove to himself, and the world, that he could be something better then his suits and his weapons. He would have a chance to be the father Howard never was. But Tony's words caught Pepper off guard and she moved her mouse away from the send.

 

"One of them?" she asked, making sure she heard him correctly.

 

"Apparently Loki was pregnant with twins, but one didn't make it," Tony explained, taking a calming breath. "Frigga says it's more common then you would think, but the other baby is fine and perfectly healthy. It still hurts though, Pep."

 

Pepper wasn't quite sure what to say. She thought a moment before she spoke, "It's going to hurt Tony. Losing a child is never easy, but think of it this way. You still have a chance to prove to the world what a great father you can be! You and Loki are still expecting. Focus on that."

 

_"Grieve for that which you have lost, and celebrate that which you still have."_

 

Tony nodded his head, even though Pepper couldn't see him. He couldn't bring any words to come out. She was right. Frigga was right, but it still hurt.

 

"Do you want me to come to New York and stay with you guys a bit?" Pepper offered.

 

Tony laughed weakly, despite his tears and pain. "You just want to hang out with Natasha."

 

Pepper laughed, "No, Tony, this time I'm serious. If you need me, I'm here."

 

Tony thought about it for a bit. "No, it's ok," he finally decided. "The company needs you more then me. Stay there and take care of business. If things get too bad, I've got the Avengers. If things get worse, I'll call you. Ok?"

 

Pepper sighed, "Alright, Tony. But I'm sending Rhodey up when he has a chance to make sure you are ok."

 

"Fine," Tony whispered.

 

They sat on the phone, opposites sides of the country, in companionable silence for a good five minutes. They did that a lot. It was comforting for Tony to know that all he had to to was talk, and Pepper would answer. While Tony sat and thought, Pepper edited her email, asking Happy to have the jet on standby in case Tony or she needed it. She hit send when she heard Tony speak up again.

 

"So why did you call me again?" Tony asked.

 

"Oh!" Pepper had almost forgotten. There was a knock on her door. It was the head of PR. She waved, letting him come in. "Have you seen the paper today?"

 

"No."

 

"If you think you can handle it, look at the entertainment section of the Times," Pepper told him.

 

Jim, the head of PR, sat down across from Pepper. Pepper held up her fingers, silently asking for one minute. Jim nodded and began to read the offending article.

 

"Ok." Tony grumbled. "JARVIS pull it up."

 

"As you wish, sir," JARVIS said, flicking up a holographic image of the page.

 

"Tony I'm putting you on speaker, Jim is here," Pepper told him, switching the phone over.

 

Tony made a small, mumbled noise. There were a few beats of silence as Tony read the article. Jim and Pepper sat on edge, waiting for Tony's response. "You have to admit," he began. "That's a really good picture. The headline is kind of funny."

 

Jim chuckled at Tony making the best of the situation. Pepper sighed deeply, trying so hard not to snap at her best friend. 

 

"Tony, please. This is serious," Pepper pleaded.

 

"You're right. The media needs better headline writers. This is too cheesy," Tony commented.

 

"Tony!" Pepper snapped.

 

"Alright. Alright," Tony said in a softer voice, backing down. "I'm sorry. You want to know what I honestly think? I honestly think that the media is having a slow week so they decided to come after me. I mean, this picture is at least ten days old, Pep. Loki, Thor and I took a trip to Asgard in the beginning of March. It'll pass."

 

Jim spoke up first. "Wait, this picture is 10 days old?"

 

"At least. I haven't been on the roof with Loki since," Tony told him.

 

Jim looked to Pepper and shrugged. "If it's 10 days old then I agree with Tony. They are having a slow week, and dug something up to create a buzz."

 

"The media is going to find out about you two one way or another, though, Tony. Just be careful, alright. Talk to Fury. Maybe he has some sort of cover story," Pepper suggested, running a hand through her hair.

 

Tony snorted, "The last time I talked to Fury, his eye almost popped out of his head. I'll be fine, Pep. Don't worry."

 

"Alright, Tony. Let me know if you need anything, ok?" she told him once again.

 

"You got it, sister," Tony quipped.

 

"Is Loki doing alright?" Pepper said, switching the phone back to the one on her desk.

 

Tony sucked in a breath, realizing the topic had changed. "No, he's not. He hasn't said a word to me since it happened."

 

Pepper grimiced, "Take care of him."

 

"I will."

 

With that, Tony ended the call. Pepper set her phone back on the receiver with a sigh. She crossed her arms on the desk and set her head down on them. Jim reached across the desk and grabbed Pepper's hand.

 

"Everything ok at their end?" he asked.

 

Pepper gave him a weak smile. "No, but when are they ever?"

 

Jim squeezed her hand comfortingly and stood to leave. "I'll keep an eye on the media for you. Don't worry too much, Pepper."

 

"I'll try."

 

Jim shut the door behind him. Pepper waited a few minutes before calling Rhodey.

 

"Rhodey here," a friendly voice said from the other end of the phone.

 

"Hey Rhodey, it's Pepper. We have a problem in New York."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I named the guy from PR jim because it made me think of Jim from IT (sherlock reference... no he's not Moriarty. it's just a nod to the show).
> 
> so yeah :P him and pepper... maybe idk theres already a lot of romances already. (and im going to toss two more into the story much later on)
> 
> how do you guys feel about Jim and Pepper? should i give them a mention or naw?


	16. Marry the Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is short and only meant as a transitional chapter with a few plot points. ive had this idea building up for a few weeks (i mention it in here) and i thought if i kept it as one chapter it would be too long, so im splitting it into 3 chapters (ooo im pulling a Hobbit xD)
> 
> anywho. Chapter title inspired by the Lady Gaga song.
> 
> Enjoy :)

_“How can you stand to look at me?”_

 

_“Loks, what are you talking about?”_

 

_“I’m a monster, Stark.”_

 

_“Back to Stark? You haven’t called me that in months.”_

 

_“You don’t deny.”_

 

_“Deny what!?”_

 

_“That I am a monster.”_

 

_“Loki, I swear to every god.”_

 

_“You may swear to me, yes.”_

 

_“LOKI STOP! Stop all this bullshit! One minute you claim you’re a monster and the next you’re back to being an arrogant god.”_

 

_“Is it not true? I destroy everything I touch. The promise of being king? Destroyed. New York? Destroyed. I am a god of chaos and lies, and look at my finest piece of work. I touched your heart and you look as though you’ve been crying for weeks.”_

 

_“Because I have been!”_

 

_“My point.”_

 

_“Loki, please, stop this. Losing the baby was not your fault. You heard Frigga. It’s more common then we know. Please stop blaming yourself. Stop pushing me away.”_

 

_*silence*_

 

_“What is it going to take for me to prove to you that I still love you, Loki?”_

 

_*silence*_

 

_“Loki, please don’t make me sing cheesy pop songs to you.”_

 

_“You jest?”_

 

_“It got you to smile.”_

 

_“I will never understand why you chose me, out of everyone else.”_

 

_“Because you’re beautiful.”_

 

_“Look in the eye, as a Jötun, and tell me that.”_

 

_“Ok.”_

 

_*silence*_

 

_“Let’s go to Vegas.”_

 

_“Oh yes! Let’s drop everything and run off to the desert with a Frost Giant!”_

 

_“Marry me.”_

 

_*silence* “What?”_

 

_“Marry me.”_

 

_“Were you not there, a month ago, in Asgard? The Allfather has already arranged that.”_

 

_“Not the same. Marry me.”_

 

_*silence* “Does Nevada even allow same sex marriages?”_

 

_“Not sure. Let’s get married in California then. Honeymoon in Vegas.”_

 

_“Why not marry right here in New York?”_

 

_“Never been home. I wanna go home. Marry me in Malibu."_

 

_*silence* “What would the Allfather say? You wish to impress him, yes?”_

 

_“God. DAMMIT LOKI! I don’t care. I don’t care anymore. I don’t care what Asgard has to say. I don’t care what S.H.I.E.L.D. has to say. I don’t care what Nat, Bruce, Clint, Steve, or Thor have to say. I don’t care what Pepper has to say. I sure as hell don’t care about what the media has to say. I know you don’t care either, so why? Why won’t you let me marry you?!”_

 

_*silence* “You’ll wake on morning and realize that you’ve made a mistake. I can’t let you go through with that.”_

 

The argument ended in Tony hurling a lamp at Loki’s head, Loki destroying the bedroom in rage, and Thor and Steve having to reprimand the pair. Natasha came in after Thor and Cap left and sat Tony and Loki on kitchen chairs. She tied them to the chairs and sat them facing each other so that their knees where touching. She would only let them go once they had made up.

 

It took three days. Three days of being tied to an uncomfortable chair, knee to knee with the person you simultaneously loved and hated the most in the world. Three days of Natasha and Clint spoon feeding you, because they needed to practice feeding children (when really, Tony and Loki's hands where tied behind them). Three days of brown eyes staring down green eyes until they both got lost. Three days of realizing that none of what had happened was any of their faults. Three days of realizing they still had a baby girl coming who was going to need her dads. Three days of realizing there was nothing they wanted more then each other.

 

On the morning of the fourth day, Natasha found them side by side. Tony had moved his chair overnight, so that him and Loki were hip to hip. Tony fell asleep with his head on Loki’s shoulder, Loki with his head on top of Tony’s. Loki heard the Widow approach. She gave him a warm smile and untied them. Loki didn’t want to disturb Tony’s sleep, so he teleported them into the bedroom. Tony stirred only enough for Loki to push him into the bed and curl up next to him.

 

Tony awoke that afternoon, with Loki curled around him. Tony didn’t remember how he got in the bed, but he didn’t care. He felt warm and safe with Loki wrapped around him. Tony snuggled into his god, and Loki stirred awake.

 

“Good morning, Darling,” Loki purred, stretching his limbs.

 

Tony muttered something that sounded like good morning, and buried his face in the sheets.

 

“Too early,” he complained.

 

“Sir, it’s four in the afternoon,” Jarvis chimed in.

 

Loki wound an arm around Tony’s waist and pulled him closer. “We should get up.”

 

“Nah.”

 

“We need to pack. The rest of the Avengers need to pack. Pepper needs to be told. I assume you want Rhodey there too. He’ll have to pack.”

 

“Loki, what are you talking about? Packing? Where are we going? Is New York in danger?” Tony asked, sleepily.

 

Loki paused and looked fondly down at his inventor. “Do you no longer wish to marry me in Malibu?”

 

That woke Tony up. He shot up and snapped his head to look at Loki with wild eyes. “You… what? You really mean it?

 

“Of course I do,” Loki whispered, nuzzling his head in the crook of Tony’s neck. “Besides, it will infuriate the Allfather and send your media into a fuss.”

 

Tony barked out a laugh. “There’s always some mischievous, chaotic hook isn’t there?”

 

“Where would the fun be if there wasn’t one?” 

 

Tony pulled back Loki’s head to look him in the eyes. “God, I love you.”

 

Loki smiled warmly, “I love you too, Anthony.”

 


	17. Endlessly Surrounded by Something Blue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah i deleted the old chapter 17. This is the new and improved one because i really hated the way the old one went. I love this one much much better and i hope you all do too! :D
> 
> Enjoy :)

"So," Tony began, sitting opposite Loki on the Stark Industries jet. "Big or small?"

 

"Hmm?" Loki hummed, looking up from his book.

 

"The wedding. Should it be big or small?" Tony asked, sipping his drink.

 

Loki closed his book and thought about it for a beat. "I'm fairly certain that if we do a Midgardian wedding, the Allfather will still demand at least a small ceremony so we are recognized under Asgardian laws. That being said, I think we should go big. Huge, even. Everyone should be there. All of your staff, the Avengers, anyone from S.H.I.E.L.D. worth inviting. Make this so big that the media will be buzzing about it for weeks."

 

Tony chuckled, setting his drink down. "Why so big?"

 

"I want the world to know so whom you belong. In case you ever get lost they'll know who to return you to." Loki deadpanned.

 

Tony snorted, "You just wanna show me off."

 

"I do," Loki purred.

 

Tony gulped down another sip of his drink, avoiding Loki's predatory stare. "If you want a big wedding, then a big wedding we shall have!"

 

Loki's expression shifted into one of concern. "What about what you want? It'll be you're wedding too."

 

Tony leaned forward and grabbed one of Loki's hands, lacing their fingers together. "I want whatever you want."

 

Loki smiled, "You are too good to me." He sighed sadly, "What in the nine realms have I done to deserve you."

 

"You tried to take over my city," Tony deadpanned.

 

Loki barked out a laugh. "Was that all it took? I should've tired it earlier." 

 

Tony made a noise of agreement. "You know, we should get Steve to marry us."

 

"The patriotic captain? Why?" Loki questioned. "He tired to kill me the first time we met."

 

Tony gave his lover a look. "We all tried to kill you the first time we met you, because you tired to kill us. But Steve's a captain. By law he can legally marry people, he's our friend - don't give me that look, Loks, he's OUR friend - and I'm sure he'd be honored," Tony explained.

 

Loki rolled his eyes at his lover.

 

"It's Steve or Fury," Tony said in a completely serious tone.

 

Loki choked, "Director Fury can marry us?"

 

Tony shrugged, taking a sip of his drink again. "I took a closer look at his file. He's an ordained minister."

 

"Call Steve," Loki commanded, whipping his chin.

 

Tony smirked, "Thought so."

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The date had been set that night. April 11th. Tony made a joke about how 11 was the number on his race car that was cut apart in Monaco. Loki made a face of horror and Tony laughed, telling him not to worry about it. Pepper demanded to be the wedding decorator; Tony was helpless to stop her. Loki called all the shots, and Natasha helped out. Tony was fine to just sit back in the living room with a beer. Clint eventually joined Tony on the second day of wedding planning. Him and Nat had come to Malibu before the others, because Loki requested Natasha’s help and Clint wouldn’t let her go alone. 

 

Loki demanded the color scheme be green and black. Tony whined about it, stating that green wasn’t his color. Loki rolled his eyes and said that he wouldn’t need to wear a lot of green, just his tie. Tony bitched and bitched until Loki threatened to withhold sex until their little girl was born. Tony shut up and asked Jarvis to pull up green designer ties.

 

Rhodey was going to be Tony’s best man. The rest of Tony’s groomsmen were Pepper (she was a grooms-lady thank you very much), Bruce, Happy, and Clint. Loki’s best men were Thor and Natasha (Natasha, like Pepper, was the Best Woman). There wasn't anyone else that Loki would've really wanted at the wedding. He didn't wish his mother to know, because she would immediately transport them to Asgard and force them to marry right then and there. As it was, Loki was shielding himself and the rest of the wedding crew from Heimdal's watchful gaze. The gatekeeper would surely tell the king and we all know how that would end.

 

Tony let Loki pick their song, because if it was up to Tony it would be something highly inappropriate for a wedding. Loki sat in the kitchen for hours three days before the wedding on YouTube trying to find a song. He wanted something that had that rock and roll kind of flair (for Tony), but something that also had lyrics that got their situation. He had it down to two songs before he called Pepper and Natasha for help. Both woman agreed that both should be played. The lyrics of both songs fit so well with the couple. That sold Loki. He told Pepper, and Pepper told the DJ.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

On the morning of the wedding, Tony and Loki woke to the sound of Thor dropping Mjölnir through the floor and into the workshop. Tony cringed when he heard the alarm from the Audi start blaring.

 

"He's paying for that," Tony mumbled and turned over, shoving his head under a pillow.

 

Loki chuckled, "I do not think that Thor has the money. Perhaps just an I O U?"

 

Tony mumbled something incoherent, as Loki started to rub the knots out of Tony's back. Tony melted into Loki's touch. The trickster smiled fondly at his inventor. There was a knock at the door and Thor walked in, looking like a puppy in trouble. Loki sighed and wrapped his arms around Tony, laying back down.

 

"Tony," Thor said quietly. "I would like to apologize for the damages done to your carriage."

 

"Yeah yeah yeah it's ok. You owe me, though," Tony mumbled into the pillow, waving him off.

 

Thor have Loki a questioning look, trying to understand what Tony had just said.

 

"He says it's fine, you just owe him," Loki translated.

 

Thor's eyes went wide, "Of course! I wouldn't think any different!"

 

Tony have him a thumbs up and Thor nodded goodbye to the pair. Once Tony heard the door shut, he rolled over onto Loki.

 

"Hey," he said sleepily.

 

"Good morning, Anthony," Loki replied.

 

Tony smiled a drowsy smile. "We're getting married today."

 

"Yes, yes we are."

 

"You know, a year ago, I wouldn't have believed it," Tony confessed. "If someone told me I would be marrying a god."

 

Loki laughed, "Really? You wouldn't have believed them? You with your large ego? I honestly don't think you would settle for less."

 

Tony smiled wider. "It's true. I don't think I would've. I would've just kept hopping from model to model until I got too old."

 

"Then I came and sorted you out."

 

"Funny the way things turn out," Tony whispered.

 

Loki smiled warmly, wrapping his arms around Tony. "Indeed."

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Pepper! Where's my tie?! Where's Rhodey?! Clint, can you please stop trying to get Bruce to Hulk out!" Tony screamed. He rubbed his temples. "I swear you are like a child!"

 

Clint opened his mouth to say something back, but Pepper zipped by and shoved a cream puff in his mouth. 

 

"Taste that and leave Bruce alone," Pepper told him, handing Tony his tie.

 

Clint glared at her, but chewed his cream puff. His scowl dissipated in a few seconds upon tasting the pastry. “This is actually really good! Who made it?”

 

“Dunno, some french pastry chef. Had them imported from Paris,” Tony answered for Pepper.

 

Pepper gave him a look and helped him straighten his tie. “Ok. Are you ok? You look good. Do you feel good? Are you sure about this? I mean I know you’re already bound and stuff but are you ready for the media? Every one is out there, Tony. The New York Times, ABC, NBC, CBS, People Magazine, Vanity Fair, and I think Fox news is out there too.”

 

Tony snorted, “Oh, Fox News, god that has to be good. Jarvis, record every news cast from Fox for the remainder of the week.”

 

“Tony please be serious,” Pepper scolded.

 

“I am!” Tony told her. “Pepper honestly, I’m fine. Im sure I want to do this. The media is going to go insane! They don’t even know who Loki is! They keep calling him “Iron Boy”. Once they see him, in a suit, they’ll be like ‘WHOA! He looks like the guy from Stuttgart!’ and then Steve will say his name and they will go crazy. I live for this, Pep. This craziness surrounding us. It keeps me going.”

 

“Our stocks are either going to soar or plummet and I’m going to blame you for it,” Pepper told him.

 

“I wouldn’t expect any different.”

 

Pepper fussed over Tony a little bit more, definitely not tearing up. Tony rolled his eyes at his overly emotional best friend. When he offered a hug she shrieked and told him it would wrinkle his suit. Natasha poked her head in, saving Tony from more of Peppers antics.

 

“We’re ready,” the widow told the crew in Tony’s room.

 

“Alright alright alright! Let’s do this!” Tony cheered, smiling widely and leading his group out into the main room. 

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Tony stood at the end of the make shift isle, waiting for the ceremony to start. Steve was actually in a suit instead of his uniform. A few of the press girls (and guys) were already commenting him on how flattering the suit was. Steve just awkwardly smiled and said thank you. 

 

“You’re stealing the show with that suit of yours, Rodgers,” Tony complained jokingly.

 

Steve raised an eyebrow at Tony. “Can’t handle the attention being shared?”

 

Tony laughed lightly, “Not today, Cap.”

 

"Leave the man alone, Tony," Rhodey chimed in. 

 

"Easy for you to say, Rhodes. You don't have Captain Spankles flaunting his superhero waist around," Tony shot back. Then a thought crossed his mind. "Oh, god. What of Loki leaves me for you?! Steve you need to go change right now!" Tony insisted, trying to push Steve toward the guest rooms.

 

"Too late," Rhodey whispered as the music started, and Dum-E came down the isle dumping flowers.

 

"Rodgers, if he leaves me for you, I will never forgive you," Tony whispered.

 

"Would you stop. I have no interest in stealing anyone, besides I really doubt Loki would leave you," Steve told the iron man.

 

Tony silently glared at Steve as Thor walked with Loki down the isle. The thunderer insisted that he be the one to walk his brother down the isle. Loki rolled his eyes, but didn’t protest. Natasha followed behind them. She watched Clint’s jaw drop upon seeing her. It made her smile, just a tiny bit.

 

Bruce elbowed Clint, "Look at Nat!"

 

"Hey! Hands off Jolly Green!" Clint screeched. 

 

Pepper stepped on Clint's foot to shut him up. Bruce snickered and Natasha shot him a look that said "what have you done?". Clint looked down, slightly embarrassed.

 

Fury, Coulson, Agent Hill, and the rest of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents they had all come to love where sitting in the front row on the left. On the right was Jim from PR, Happy, and the rest of Tony's favorite staff members from Stark Industries. The rest of the crowd was S.H.I.E.L.D. or Stark Industries people. There were a few celebrities in the crowd. Top name people that would stop coming to Stark Industries fundraisers and parties. Tony didn't want anything to do with that so he let Jim and Pepper handle it.

 

Tony couldn't take his eyes off of Loki, once he spotted him. Loki was wearing a suit nearly identical to the one he wore in Stuttgart, only with a green tie. The media in the back began whispering to each other. Loki caught wind of “Is that the guy from Germany?”, “Why is Thor walking him down? It HAS to be Loki! Aren’t they brothers?” and “No! Stark isn’t that crazy! Besides we would all know if it was him.” Loki smiled to himself. He couldn’t resist stirring up trouble. Tony’s breath caught when Loki came to stand beside him. The suit hid his not so subtle baby bump perfectly. He looked so regal and composed. Tony suddenly felt like mess.

 

“Who will be giving this man away?” Steve asked, sticking to ceremony. As much as Tony insisted it didn't have to be traditional, Steve wasn't having it any other way.

 

Loki rolled his eyes as Thor answered, “I will be.”

 

Steve nodded, Thor took his spot behind Loki, and Loki scooted a little closer to Tony.

 

“Dearly beloved we are gathered here today,” Steve began. “for a fusion of two worlds and two souls.”

 

“Two worlds!? This HAS to be him, I’m telling you!” the journalist with an ABC logo whispered to his buddy from CBS.

 

"I dunno man, is that even legal? He's not exactly a citizen of the US," the CBS guy whispered back. 

 

"SHH!" The Fox journalist shushed.

 

"Why are you even here?!" ABC guy asked.

 

The journalist from Fox rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the wedding.

 

Loki and Tony exchanged a look and smirked. They were so confused, it was perfect. Fury's eye starting twitching as he whispered something to Coulson, who just nodded at the director. Steve raised an eyebrow at them, but contiuned.

 

“Before we start, does anyone have any objections as to why these two cannot be married?” the captain asked the audience.

 

Loki looked out to the crowd, glaring, daring someone to say something. No one said a word.

 

Steve moved on, “Anthony Stark, do you take Loki Laufeyson to-“

 

“I KNEW IT!” at least three journalists shouted out, quickly covering their mouths.

 

Fury jumped up. "LOOK! I DON'T KNOW ABOUT Y'ALL BUT IM HERE FOR A WEDDING SO SHUT THE HELL UP OK?!"

 

All of the media looked away from the director, embarrassed.

 

"Mother fucking snakes of this goddamn society," Fury mumbled as he sat back down. 

 

Coulson, Hill, Clint, Tony, and Loki all tried to hide their laughter. Steve and Pepper looked greatly annoyed. 

 

“As I was saying,” Cap said sharply. “Anthony Stark, do you take Loki Laufeyson to be your lawfully wedded husband - to hold and treasure until the end of time?”

 

“I do.”

 

“And do you, Loki Laufeyson take Anthony Stark to be your lawfully wedded husband - to hold and treasure until the end of time?”

 

“I do,” Loki purred, smiling softly. Tony broke out into a broad smile.

 

"I believe you have some vows to exchange?" Steve asked.

 

"We do," Loki confirmed, magicing a ring out of the air. The media crew ooo'd and awed. Fury's eye started twitching again.

 

"Anthony," Loki began, as he reached for Tony's left hand. "I would've never thought I would be where I stand now. You are the one ray of sunshine I have. It casts out all of the darkness of my past. I'll love you endlessly." He slid the gold, black, and green ring on to Tony's finger.

 

Tony was not tearing up, ok. Let's get that clear right now. It was his allergies. He was allergic to the media... achoo. Tony smiled brightly at Loki, as Loki pulled another ring out of the air.

 

"HOW?!" The fox guy questioned.

 

Fury began to stand up, but Coulson grabbed him by the shoulder and lowered him back into his seat.

 

"Loki, Reigndeer Games, Rock of Ages, Frosty, The Big Blue," Tony began, grabbing the ring from Loki. "I've got so many nicknames for you. That's what I do, I give people a nickname. When you've reached that status of more then one nickname, that should be a warning that you're in it for the long haul with me. What I didn't realize was be the end of the day, yeah that day, you had already gotten two nicknames. What I'm trying to say is that nicknames are my term of endearment, and I don't think I could endear someone more then you. You are my whole world. I'll love you endlessly." Tony slid a gold, silver, and red ring on to Loki's left ring finger.

 

Both men smiled goofily at each other as Steve wrapped up the ceremony. 

 

“By the power vested in me by the State of California, I now pronounce you husband and husband! You may kiss the groom!” Steve told them, smiling in support.

 

Loki finally cracked and broke into a wider grin, pulling Tony’s face to his own. They both melted into the kiss, while keeping it short. Tony broke first, throwing his arms around Loki’s neck and nuzzling his face into Loki’s neck. Loki laughed and used his strength to lift Tony bridal style. The S.H.I.E.L.D./Avengers/Stark Industries crew let out a whoop, stood and cheered, as Loki carried Tony past them.

 

“NO!” Tony laugh/screamed. “Put me down! You shouldn’t be carrying me!”

 

Loki laughed, a real genuine laugh, “Hush, Anthony. I will be fine.”

 

“I love you so much,” Tony whispered, nuzzling his face back into Loki's neck.

 

“I should hope so!” Loki chuckled. “Remember that when you hear our song.”

 

Tony let his head drop onto Loki’s chest and groaned. “Please tell me its not Taylor Swift or something sentimental and country.”

 

“It’s not country, I will tell you that.”

 

“THANK GOD!”

 

They reached the end of the isle and Loki set Tony down. Then the media swarmed.

 

“Mr. Stark! Mr. Stark! Why didn’t you tell us you were marrying Loki? Are you under some kind of mind control?”

 

“Mr. Stark! How does it feel to be married to a god?”

 

“Mr. Stark! Can we get a picture?”

 

"Mr. Stark! Should we be expecting any adopted little ones from you two?"

 

“To which Mr. Stark are you referring?” Tony asked the crowd, being both serious and sarcastic.

 

Loki snorted as Tony grabbed his hand and quickly exited the house. Pepper had set up a dance pad and a DJ booth on the front drive way. The guests invited to the after party swarmed out after the newly weds, leaving the media behind in the dust.

 

“DJ!” Tony shouted, once all of the Avengers (plus Pepper and Rhodey) were outside. “Drop me a beat!”

 

Loki and Pepper exchanged a smirk, knowing what song the DJ was about to drop. The DJ, with help from Loki and Pepper had mixed together a bunch of classic rock songs for the after party. The DJ was so pleased with how smooth it sounded and how well it flowed together, he considered selling the mix as an original song.

 

"Aw yeah! I love this song!" Tony shouted as the intro words started. Loki just smirked at him, his eyes glimmering. "Why are you looking at me like th-" he froze when the music started. "Loki... what is this?"

 

Loki just smiled at him. "What do you mean?"

 

Then "We Will Rock You" flowed out with the instrumental of "Back in Black"

 

"IS THIS A MASHUP OF CLASSIC ROCK SONGS?!" Tony exclaimed.

 

"You're welcome!" Pepper shouted as she danced past them, dragging a furiously blushing Steve onto the dance floor.

 

"Do you like it?" Loki asked, watching Tony play a mean air guitar.

 

"Are you KIDDING ME?! I LOVE IT!!!" Tony announced, really rocking out hard. "This is the best thing I've ever heard! I think I might actually cry!"

 

Loki laughed and wrapped his arms around Tony's waist. "Or you could just thank me later," he purred in Tony's ear.

 

"Deal!"

 

The party music played on for a good while before the DJ stopped the music.

 

"I believe Tony and Loki have yet to dance to their song," the DJ told the crowd. "I've been told that there was some hair pulling in narrowing the songs down, so there's two for you guys."

 

Pepper and Natasha exchanged a sly smile and turned their attention back to the floor.

 

The DJ began the song, it was more upbeat then Tony would've thought, but he wasn't complaining.

 

_"I stared up at the sun. Thought of all of the people, places and things I've loved."_

 

Loki began to slide Tony around the dance floor. The song quickly began to pick up pace.

 

"Didn't think you would pick a fast one," Tony commented.

 

"I prefer fast dancing to slow dancing," Loki confessed.

 

"Good, because so do I!" Tony said, quickly whipping Loki around as the beat sped up.

 

_"You can see your life out the window tonight."_

 

"Is that a joke about you tossing me from the tower?" Tony asked.

 

Loki through his head back in laughter. "I'm actually surprised you got that."

 

_"If I lose myself tonight, it'll be you and I."_

 

The beat quickly morphed into a dance song. The pair temporarily broke apart to keep with the beat. 

 

They continued to tear up the dance floor to their first song. It was a nice mix of slow and fast. Loki caught Tony just as the last line was coming up.

 

"The next one is a dance song, but listen to the lyrics," Loki whispered.

 

_"40 thousand feet keep flying!"_

 

"Another joke?" Tony asked.

 

Loki laughed, shaking his head yes.

 

The song abruptly changed into a steady beat.

 

_"I'll be your light, your match, your burning sun."_

 

"Got a thing for OneRepublic?" Tony asked, dancing his way toward Loki.

 

"Mhmm. I rather like their voice."

 

"It's not real rock but I'll give you brownie points for getting close."

 

_"I got my mind made up and I can't let go! I'm killing every second till it steals my soul! I've been running, I've been running, till the love runs out. And we start the fire, and we shut it down! Till the love runs out, till the love runs out."_

 

For the first time in his life, Tony got to see the hips that Loki has in action (besides bedroom activities, obviously). That man has a pair of hips that should be a deadly weapon. Tony was so entranced for a second, he stopped dancing all together. 

 

Then there was a lyric that caught his attention.

 

_"There's a maniac out in front of me, got an angel on my shoulder."_

 

Tony through his head back, laughing.

 

"These two songs are perfect, Loks."

 

"Good! I'm glad I've chosen well."

 

"I knew you would've."

 

The song came to a close and the newly weds took a bow. Their friends all clapped and cheered for them.

 

"I live for the applause," Loki whispered.

 

"No! Don't you even dare you son of a bitch! Do not abandon me for cheesy Lady Gaga lyrics," Tony scolded.

 

Loki snickered and pulled Tony in for a kiss. "I could never abandon you, Anthony. You know that."

 

"I know."

 

"HEY DJ! PLAY ME SOME BEYONCÉ!" Clint shouted, dragging Natasha onto the floor. Nat had a little baby bump. Barely visible in this light, but earlier today you noticed it. Many S.H.I.E.L.D. agents congratulated her. That put Natasha at ease.

 

The DJ shook his head laughing, and started to play Clint his Beyoncé. The song drove Thor and Jane out onto the floor, who surprisingly, are good dancers. Tony made a mental note to take Thor to a dance club before for his bachelor party when he was going to marry Jane. 

 

"LET ME HEAR YOU SAY HEY MRS. CARTER!" Clint shouted along with the song. Tony shook his head, laughing at the Hawk.

 

Loki and Tony took a seat at their table with Bruce and Rhodey. Pepper had dragged Steve onto the floor, telling him he needed to loosen up.

 

"How drunk is Pepper?" Tony asked Rhodey.

 

"A three," Rhodey told his best friend. 

 

Tony raised his eyebrows. "Damn. For Pepper that's pretty high. I'm slightly impressed."

 

Rhodey laughed. "What's the deal with her and Jim?"

 

"There's a deal with her and Jim?" Tony asked, taking a sip of whatever drink Loki had given him. 

 

Rhodey gave Tony such a horrified look. 

 

"I'm kidding, Rhodey. She won't tell me, but I think it should happen," Tony said, laughing.

 

"I agree," Rhodey said, sipping his beer.

 

Bruce and Loki just shook their heads. Rhodey and Tony always tried to play match maker with their friends. Agent Hill, soon, was dragging Rhodey onto the floor too. Pepper, once satisfied that Steve wasn't running off the floor, circled back and grabbed Bruce.

 

Loki draped an arm around the back of Tony's chair, watching Pepper drag Bruce with her. Tony leaned in and laid his head on Loki's chest. The pair looked up at the sky as the party raged on.

 

"Shame the stars aren't out," Tony said quietly.

 

Loki waved his hand across the sky, finger tips crackling with green magic. Suddenly all of the pollution and clouds had left the sky, leaving nothing but shining stars.

 

"Breath taking," Tony breathed out, lacing his fingers with Loki's.

 

Loki smiled and kissed the top of Tony's head.

 

Loki didn't think, in a million years, that he would be where he sits now. He wouldn't change it for any price tag. An overwhelming sense of dread rolled over him suddenly, in the middle of his musings. Tony must've sense it (probably through the bond, Loki needed to look into that more). He looked up at his god with a worried look on his face.

 

"I'm fine, the baby is just starting to kick," Loki said, the lie easily rolling off his tongue.

 

Tony was hesitant to believe him, but he laid his head back down. "We still need a name for our little girl."

 

"Something that has meaning," Loki thought.

 

"Something that sounds good with Stark," Tony added.

 

Loki snorted, "I'm sure we will think of something."

 

Tony snuggled closer to Loki, closing his eyes.

 

The party raged on, Tony falling asleep from stress and the busy day. Loki was lost in his thoughts. He had lifted his shield from Heimdal, and expected an angry visit from Frigga by afternoon tomorrow. There was something else that was bothering him, however. He couldn't quite put his finger on it. A surge of blue energy shot through him, causing him to collapse in on himself. Tony was startled awake, looking at his husband with alarm.

 

"Fuck," Loki groaned, doubling over in pain.

 

"You ok? What's wrong?" Tony asked quietly, trying not to alert the others.

 

Loki looked up at Tony, pleadingly, as blue energy crackled around him. His eyes were shifting from green to blue. Tony knew these symptoms all too well. It was the Tesseract fucking with Loki again. In a few minutes he would be a ball of rage and probably cause a lot of damage.

 

"Ok, babe, do me a favor. Take a really deep breath and think about me and the baby ok? Fight this for all of two minutes. I'm going to get Thor to carry you inside to the workshop and you can tear it apart ok?" Tony explained, waving Thor over to the table. The thunder god came jogging over in seconds.

 

Loki nodded, his knuckles turning white from the grip he had on the table.

 

"Take him to my workshop and close the door behind you," Tony explained to Thor. 

 

Thor nodded silently, picking up his brother and jogging into the empty house.

 

"Is everything ok?" Pepper asked Tony as he passed her.

 

"Yeah. Yeah he's fine. He's just starting to feel a little sick, you know? He's down to his last three months, things are happening fast," Tony lied to her.

 

Pepper nodded and patted his shoulder. "Go take care of him. I'll cover for you."

 

"Thanks Pep, you are a doll," Tony said giving her a peck on the cheek. He ran into the house after Thor.

 

"Everything ok?" Natasha asked, coming over to where Pepper was standing. Clint had an arm around Nat's waist.

 

"Yeah. Tony said Loki's just suddenly feeling under the weather," Pepper told them.

 

The couple exchanged a worried glance. 

 

"Yeah. I know," Pepper agreed with their look.

 

The trio turned to look at the house and noticed soft flashes of blue light coming from the back of the house where the workshop was. They grimaced and shared a look.

 

"What's that old saying?" Clint asked. "Something borrowed, something blue?"

 

Somewhere in the background the DJ shouted, "THROWBACK!" and switched the song. The trio paid no mind to it, however.

 

"I'm not sure this is the blue they had in mind," Natasha muttered.

 

Pepper nodded in agreement.

 

_"Yo, listen up, here's the story. About a little guy that lives in a blue world."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title partially inspired by the song Endlessly by Muse.
> 
> The two wedding songs where If I Lose Myself & Love Runs Out (both by OneRepublic).
> 
> The baby's named will be revealed in the next chapter! :D


	18. Forever Ruling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the baby's name is revealed!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this is so short. :(
> 
> also, if you haven't read the edited version of Chapter 17 I strongly suggest you do. I may or may not have added in some more comic relief and some more serious stuff :)
> 
> Enjoy:D

Thor gently placed Loki on the holo pad in the workshop. 

"Brother," Thor began.

"Thor," Loki croaked. "You must go."

Thor opened his mouth to protest, but the energy surging around Loki was growing.

"GO!" Loki roared, falling to his knees, his Aesir form beginning to fall away. 

Thor nodded and quickly exited the room. Tony came running down the stairs as Thor closed the door.

"JARVIS! Lock down the house and double the workshop," Tony said, looking into the workshop.

"Sir, it is requiring an override code that I do not have," JARVIS chimed in.

"What?" Tony huffed, moving Thor out of the way and entered a code into the keypad.

"Maximum security override accepted. Beginning lockdown now," JARVIS told him, the lights in the house going dim.

"J, keep the power going to the party outside. I don't want them to worry."

"Adjusted."

Tony sat on the stairs with a sigh, running his hands through his hair. Thor sat beside him.

"I worry about him every time this occurs," Thor said softly.

"I do too," Tony said in a quiet voice. "I worry about what it does to his psychology, having to be Jötun the entire time. I worry about the baby, and how it will effect her."

A blot of blue energy hit the glass doors, starling Thor. Tony glared daggers at the now blue door.

"All will be well, my friend," Thor assured. "I have asked mother to look into this situation. She thinks the more episodes he has, the more it will work it's way out of his system. "

"What if they get stronger?" Tony asked.

Thor stopped a moment to think. "I am not sure."

Tony sighed and put his head in his hands. He was worried sick.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
*Loki's POV*

He heard Thor shut the door, and the muffled voice of another person. He looked up through the blue haze surrounding him to see Tony yelling at JARVIS and entering in a code on the keypad by the door. Tony looked at Loki for a moment. The look conveyed so much worry and love. Loki couldn't fight the energy surging in him anymore. He let his Aesir form slide away. A ripple of blue flowed out from his fingertips, crashing against the case of Iron Man suits. The glass barely scratched. The dark side of Loki decided that it would be a good target. Bolt after bolt of blue energy shot out in an attempt to break the glass, but it wouldn't budge. Loki screamed in frustration, whipping around to throw a bolt at the glass door. He saw Thor jump and Tony glare at the door. It did nothing to calm him down. 

Section by section, Loki quickly tore apart the work shop. He walked over to the shelf where Tony's first arc reactor sat inside it's glass box that Pepper had made for Tony. Loki grabbed the box and with a psychotic grin, he smashed it on the ground, breaking the glass. He fired a bolt of energy at it and watched it explode. He looked up at the door to see Tony's reaction. Tony just looked at Loki passively. Giving Loki the satisfaction of being upset would just cause the episode to last longer.

Loki growled in frustration and began to spin a ball of blue fire between his hands. He kept it's going until it grew to the size of a watermelon. He expanded his hands out, tossed the ball up, and fired a blot of energy at it. The resulting explosion left everything in the workshop sizzling and burnt to a crisp. 

That last burst left Loki drained. He collapsed on the floor, his Aesir form returning. His last conscious thought was hearing the sound of JARVIS unlocking the door and Tony calling his name.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, Loki came too in his and Tony's shared bed. Instantly all of the memories from the past day came flooding back. The wedding, the after party, the pain, the blue, the workshop. Loki groaned and let his head hit the pillow.

"Loki?" a sleepy voice asked from beside him. 

Loki looked over at Tony. Tony was still really tired, barely awake. "Shh. Go back to sleep, Darling. I am fine," Loki assured him, running a hand through Tony's hair, gently pushing his head back to the pillow.

Tony fell asleep seconds later. Once Loki heard his breathing even out, he slipped out of the bed. He found a pair of sweatpants in one of the dresser drawers and threw them on. They must've been Tony's, because they were too short. Loki used his magic to make them fit properly. He rummaged some more and found an old AC/DC shirt that had be Tony's, however it fit Loki perfectly. Satisfied enough, Loki quietly walked out of the room and padded to the elevator. He had a workshop to fix.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Loki had placed a note on the holo pad in Tony's workshop after he fixed it up. The note simply read, "Her name will be Erika."

When Tony had woken hours later to find the bed empty, he asked JARVIS where Loki was. Before JARVIS told him, he said that Loki left something for Tony in the workshop. Curious creature that Tony is, he ventured down to find the room had been exactly the same as it was before Loki destroyed it. Sometimes Tony really loved magic. He walked around, inspecting everything for a missed speck of damage, but everything was as it should be. Except that piece of paper on the holo pad. Tony walked over, picking it up, and reading it to himself.

"Erika Stark," Tony whispered, sounding it out. He nodded his head. "Perfect."

"It means 'forever ruling' in Nordic terms," a voice came from the shadows.

Tony jumped before he realized it was just Loki. "Don't scare me like that again!" 

Loki smiled at his inventor. "Do you like it?"

Tony walked over to where Loki was, wrapping an arm around his waist. "It's perfect, but she still needs a middle name."

"Hmm..." Loki thought, wrapping his arms around Tony. "We can figure that out later."

"Mhmmkay," Tony replied, laying his head on Loki's chest. "You're really comfy you know?"

Loki laughed and began leading them to the elevator. "Come on, we didn't properly celebrate our wedding last night."

"I like the way you think," Tony smirked, leaning up to steal a quick kiss from his god.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i dont know if i've apologized for this before or not, but i write this story on my phone or tablet (rarely do i ever write it on my computer) but i do upload it with my computer (i'd like to thank Apple and iCloud). so if the formatting gets a little spacey or screwy im really sorry i'll try and fix it, but im not sure how much i can fix it.
> 
> about Erika's name: im not entirely sure how accurate the meaning is. i googled nordic names and their meanings and it gave me a list and i really like the sound of Erika so i went with it. (it did have thor and lokis name on the list and said they meant thunder and trickster so who knows)
> 
> the honeymoon will be in the next chapter :D


	19. First a Capsicle, Now a Lokisicle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay! hi hello, I know I've been slacking, I'm sorry. I finally got my friend to watch Thor 2 and it inspired me to write this chapter.
> 
> a couple of things  
> 1.) ooooo major character death warning. no: it's none of the avengers (Loki is considered an avenger in this story) it's also not happening in this chapter, but it will happen soon, (maybe chapter 24 or 25). It's also none of the children.  
> 2.) we are almost 1/3 of the way done this story! I want to thank all of you for reading this and leaving kudos and comments. This has become my master piece (it surpassed all my other stories in kudos, hits, words, and maybe comments... still not sure about that but...) I love what I have planned with this story, and I love where it's going. I hope you all will too.  
> 3.) this is also becoming a monster of a masterpiece. I will be many many chapters long. I thought I was going to have this finished before the summer was over, but my summer is quickly coming to a close (I have three weeks left *sobbing*). I will be writing this during the school year, but seeing that it's my first year of college, I'm not sure how much time I will have. I promise to update at least once every two week during the semester. (something tells me I will have more time then I think, but I'm not sure).
> 
> alright! enough about me and the future of this story. This chapter is rather fun! Enjoy :)

"LOKI ODINSON!!" Frigga's voice boomed ominously throughout the entire mansion. It wasn't until early the next day when Frigga appeared.

"Oooo he's in for it," Clint whispered to Nat, snuggling closer to her in their giant bed.

Nat snorted and pulled the covers over Clint to cover him more. Tony had been gracious enough to lend out his guest rooms to the Avengers, Rhodey, and Pepper. He said it didn't feel right sending his closest friends off to a hotel when he had such a large house. Pepper and Bruce knew better. They knew that this group of people was the closest thing Tony had to a family, and he liked to keep them close (and he knew they were safe in his house with JARVIS watching).

"MOTHER PLEASE!!" Loki's voice boomed back. "I WAS NEVER ODIN'S SON! BESIDES WHICH, I AM MARRIED NOW!! PLEASE ADJUST THE NAME ACCORDINGLY!!"

Clint groaned and stuck his head under a pillow. "A game of hide and seek between gods? More like project your voice everywhere so they can hear you."

Natasha turned over to face Clint. "You would hide from Frigga too if you were in Loki's position, don't even lie."

"Of course I would be hiding! But in the air vents and I wouldn't be half as loud."

"BY THE NINE, LOKI STARK, IF YOU DO NOT REVEAL YOURSELF I SHALL SHAVE TONY BALD!!" Frigga threatened, pulling a shaver out of the air.

"Lokes, babe, please help a guy out? I really like my hair," Tony's distressed voice came from the living room.

"You know if we were in the tower we wouldn't be hearing any of this," Nat mused.

"Did she say shave Tony bald?" Clint asked excitedly, jumping out of bed and throwing on a pair of sweats.

He stuck his head out of the door to spy on the situation. From their bedroom door, Natasha and Clint had the perfect view of the living room. Nat sighed and padded over to where Clint was and spied with him.

"LOKI YOU HAVE 10 SECONDS!" Frigga warned and began a countdown, moving the device closer to Tony's head.

"Nononononononononononono," Tony pleaded, hands clasped together as if he were praying. "Frigga please don't shave me bald!"

"5, 4, 3," Frigga counted down.

"LOKI!" Tony yelled.

Just as Frigga said 1, Loki materialized in front of them.

"Thank fuck," Tony whispered, collapsing to his knees and passing out.

"Is he quite well? I would've never permanently made him bald," Frigga said, looking down at Tony concerned.

"He'll be fine," Loki told her. "What do you wish to speak to me about?"

Frigga slapped her son across the face.

"Oh shit," Clint giggled.

Loki froze, his face turned away from her hand. His jaw clenched, unsure of how to react.

"How dare you get married and not even invite your own mother!" she said in a hushed tone, scandalized.

Loki went to speak but Frigga held up a hand silencing him. "You work so hard to get on your fathers good side, only to turn around a deliberately do something to anger him! Loki, darling, have you no shame? What are we to do with your wedding date? Believe it or not, many Asgardians were looking forward to the wedding."

"If it matters any, mother, the proposed date for mine and Tony's Asgardian wedding, is also Erika's due date. Tell me how that is supposed to work? Even if she doesn't arrive on said date, I would in Jötun form, and unable to change. How would the good people of Asgard react to that? This worked in everyone's favor much better," Loki explained, taking a calm breath, and smoothing his shirt out.

"Erika?" Frigga said softly, with a warm smile. "Is that what you've decided to name the child."

"Yes."

"Forever ruling... how appropriate. I shall speak with your father about changing the date. Perhaps we can convince Thor to ask Jane for her hand in marriage, hmm? It's about time, don't you think?" Frigga mused, turning to walk toward the balcony. "Enjoy your honeymoon, dear. I shall keep you posted."

Loki smiled after his mother as she disappeared back to Asgard. He knew throwing in more information about baby Erika would catch Frigga off guard and have things work in his favor. Sliver-tongue indeed. Loki bent down to wake Tony from his stress induced nap.

"Darling," Loki purred. "You must awaken, our plane leaves in 3 hours."

Loki gently shook Tony's shoulders was enough to rouse him from unconsciousness. 

"Plane? OH! Vegas! Right! I'll start packing!" Tony exclaimed, jumping up off of the floor, and speeding up the stairs. Loki chuckled fondly and followed his husband.

"Damn," Clint whispered, ducking his head back into the room. "I thought that was going to be more intense. At least we know their baby's name before the others!"

Natasha laughed at her archer, going back to bed. "Speaking off names," she began, running a hand over her baby bump. "What are we gunna name this child of ours?"

"Dunno. I'm really fond of the name Alex," Clint confessed, joining the widow.

"Alex," Natasha said, testing out the name. "I like it. If we have a boy, it can be Alexander. If we have a girl, Alexandria."

"Who's last name?" Clint asked, turning to face his lover.

"Alex Barton. Alex Romanov," Nat said, holding up her hands like scales, weighing which she liked best. "Alex Romanov," she decided, holding her left hand higher.

"You're a bitch," Clint chuckled fondly.

"I'm surprised it took you that long to figure that out," Nat mumbled, slipping further under the covers, snuggling up to Clint.

"Mhmm. Love you, 'Tasha," Clint sleepily whispered, closing his eyes, while his confession catching the spy off guard.

She paused, then ran a hand through his short hair, "I suppose I love you too."

Clint smiled softly and wrapped an arm around her waist.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"MY FRIENDS!" Thor boomed with a giant grin on his face as he joined the group (minus Loki and Tony, who were on the next flight to Vegas) at the table. "I HAVE ASKED THE LADY JANE TO MARRY ME, AND SHE HAS ACCEPTED!"

A round of congratulations was kick started by Pepper, ever the woman for a good celebration.

"When's the wedding going to be?" Steve asked, digging his spoon into a bowl of Cheerios. 

"July the ninth! Just a few short months away! I wish for you all to attend! The Lady Pepper and Colonel Rhodes as well! But be wary, it will be held in Asgard. Most mid guardians experience motion sickness on the trip up," Thor informed them.

"Well, I'm in," Clint told the thunderer, reaching for a napkin.

"I guess that means I am too," Natasha chimed in.

"Doesn't the Allfather need to allow us all entry?" Bruce asked, looking up from his omelet.

"He has already informed me that any member of this valiant group of warriors is welcomed," Thor explained, his smile growing impossibly bigger.

"I'm in," Rhodey said, setting his glass down. "Pep?"

Pepper smiled at Thor, "Why not! I would be honored."

Steve shot Bruce a look, at which Bruce nodded. "Count us in," Steve finally said.

"I'm so glad you will all be able to attend! It truly means a lot to me," Thor told the group, finally taking a seat between Rhodey and Clint.

"Are Tony and Loki coming too?" Pepper asked after a minute or two, her curiosity eating at her.

Thor looked at her, offended she would even suggest that they wouldn't be. "Of course! Loki has told me, however, that the date of the wedding is also the date his and Tony's baby girl is due. It is very much dependent on her arrival."

"And Asgard has no problem with Loki being so..." Steve thought over his words carefully. "Close to giving birth?"

Thor's eyes clouded over, "Anyone in Asgard who has a quarrel with my brothers true heritage will have to answer to me. I care not if Loki is purple with yellow spots from a fictional planet, I wish him to be there."

"You're a good brother, Thor," Jane's voice came from the entrance to the kitchen. "I assume you've told them?"

Thor's dark look immediately cleared upon seeing his bride to be. "I have! They will all be in attendance!"

Jane's smile lit up the room. Between her and Thor, they could power the mansion with smiles. The Avengers will certainly be busy this year. Steve silently wished nothing bad would happen, like new villains or missions from S.H.I.E.L.D. Part of him knew something was bound to happen, but he took the unnatural silence as a godsend and hoped for more. None of them knew what fate had in store, however.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You know, I've been thinking," Tony began. He was lounged out on the bench bed in the Stark Industries jet with his head in Loki's lap. Loki was idly running a hand through Tony's hair as he read a book his mother had given him.

"Dangerous task," Loki jokingly chided.

Tony moved his head to the side and bit Loki on the top of his thigh.

"Anthony!" Loki screeched, blushing furiously.

"Are you blushing? Oh my god, you're definatley blushing!" Tony teased, turning back around to look at Loki's face. "Liked that one, Frosty? Kinky."

Loki rolled his eyes and tugged Tony's hair a bit. Tony yelped and tired to move his head out of Loki's reach. Loki chuckled darkly.

"Anyway, I was thinking that we don't know a lot about this bond thingy between us. You know, with the apple and all that," Tony told him.

Loki raised an eyebrow at his husband and shifted the letters on the front of his book so Tony could read them.

"Golden Apple Bonds? That sounds like a really bad economics book written by Steve Jobs," Tony teased and Loki sighed. "I'm only kidding. Great minds think alike!"

"I am not so sure it is a coincidence," Loki confessed, flipping a page. "It seems we may be more connected then we realized. Tell me, do you feel this?" 

Loki closed his book and his eyes in concentration and searched through his mind for something very specific. It was buried deep, but he eventually found it. Loki pictured it as a golden rope tying his mind to Tony's. He pulled hard on the connection, causing Tony to jump.

"What the hell was that?!" Tony exclaimed.

Loki opened his eyes. "That's our connection."

"Does it work both ways? Can I talk to you through it like old school string and cups?" Tony asked, wanting to test it out immediately. 

"I am unsure. According to this book, with time our connection will grow. Eventually we will be able to sense each other's feelings and see each other's every thought. Among Aesir, it takes a couple hundred years to reach that point. Seeing that neither of us are Aesir, it will probably take 15-20 years," Loki explained.

"Why is it shorter not longer?" Tony asked. This was too cool for him, he felt like a science experiment.

"In cases where creatures of magic have bonded with an apple, it took a a few years for the bond to fully mature. I may not be an Asgardian, but I am a creature of magic," a Loki told him, closing the book, and leaning back on the bench.

"This is cool, because now you won't be able to lie to me," Tony grinned evily. "So I will really know if it's you that's been taking the cookie from the cookie jar!"

"When did you buy a cookie jar?" Loki gave his inventor a quizzical look.

"You really never... you know what? I will buy the book and you reads it to Erika, then you can understand what I'm talking about," Tony mumbled, curling up against Loki.

"Ok, Darling, whatever you say," Loki whispered, running his hand through Tony's short hair.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, as the Avengers were beginning to pack up and head back to N York when JARVIS interrupted with a message.

"Mr. Stark wishes for me to inform you all that the Tower is under construction. You are all welcome to stay here until it is complete," Jarvis's voice rang all over the mansion.

"What? Under construction for what? Has something happened?" Steve asked, slowing his folding process.

"If you would all be so kind as to come to the living room, I can explain Mr. Stark's reasoning," JARVIS told the group again.

Steve shrugged and walked out to the living room where Thor and Bruce were already sitting. Clint and Natasha joined shortly afterwards.

"The tower is being remodeled," JARVIS said, pulling up a holo of the tower. "The penthouse is not a safe place for children. It is being remodeled to be safer and to include a nursery. The floor beneath the penthouse will become the new common floor. Complete with a home theater, kitchenette, and some pool tables. The floor under that will be made safe for children as well, and given to Mr. Barton and Ms. Romanov. After that the floor order is The Captains, Mr. Odinson's, Mr. Banners, various science floors, a home gym, an archery floor, an Olympic sized swimming pool, and the bottom floor will be Mr. Stark's workshop."

"We are getting entire floors?!" Clint screeched, his eyes bugging out of his head.

"Yes, that was Mr. Stark's plan," JARVIS told them.

"Well I'll be damned," Steve mumbled, manipulating the holo to investigate the new tower structure. 

"We should do something nice for Tony. He didn't have to do this for us," Bruce chimed in. He was really glad Tony had given him the bottom residence floor. It would be far less chaotic and possibly quieter.

"Sir has already told me that no repayment is needed. He knows how crowded you all were on one floor. He had to remodel the penthouse, so he told me to 'gut the whole thing and give everyone a floor while you're at it'."

"Well tell him we owe him something anyway," Steve told JARVIS, brushing the holo away.

"I shall endeavor to pass the message along," JARVIS told the captain.

"Well," Natasha began. "Since we will be here for a while, I'm going shopping for baby things. Clint your coming with me, no excuses."

The hawk made a face but followed his spy out of the house. Thor got up to change into a pair of board shorts that Jane had bought for him, with the intentions of swimming in the ocean. Bruce quietly snuck down to Tony's workshop to finish a project. That left Steve alone wit the kitchen. He rummaged through the pantry until he found the things he needed. With an entire day to kill, he might as well make the team a treat. He set the bag of flour on the counter, preheated the oven to 350F and got started on a batch of cookies.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Loki and Tony had every intention of staying in Vegas until Memorial Day. Six weeks in Sin City with no avengers, no S.H.I.E.L.D., and no Stark Industries. It was wonderful and relaxing. Besides, the Malibu mansion was crowded with superheroes until the tower was done.

Everything was picture perfect, until about the fourth week when Loki woke up complaining about the heat. It was the first time he had done so since they arrived. As the days passed, the desert became unbearable for the trickster. Tony suggested that maybe it was getting too close to Loki's shift for him to be in such a hot climate. Loki agreed and by the start of week five they were on the first flight back to New York.

When they arrived in the penthouse, everything had changed. Gone were the sunk in floors and glass table tops. It was a much more child friendly environment. Loki was impressed to say the least. None of the others had arrived yet. JARVIS told the couple that they would be arriving by dinner time. Seeing as they had a few hours to kill, Tony and Loki decided to explore the newly renovated tower. When Loki spotted the giant pool, he magicked a bathing suit on and slipped into the shallow end, leaning back and letting the water relax his tense body. Tony stuck his feet in the water and sat on the edge next to his husband.

"Jesus, Loks!" Tony exclaimed, pulling his feet out of the water. "It's still freezing! How can you stand it?"

Loki gave his husband a look. "Really, Anthony, you always seem to forget that I am a frost giant."

Tony made an "oh yeah" face. "Huh, do I?" he grinned mischievously.

Loki scowled and splashed Tony with the cold water. Tony gasped, soaked head to toe. 

"NOT COOL!!" Tony shouted.

"Really? The temperature seems quite cool to me," Loki responded, slinking away from the edge with a grin plastered on his face.

"Oh, is that how you wanna play?" Tony asked, pulling his shirt over his head and kicking his shoes off.

"I thought you said that water was too cold, Anthony," Loki teased.

"You better run, Frosty," Tony warned, diving into the pool.

Loki laughed and transported himself to a chair on the edge of the pool. When Tony surfaced and saw that Loki had left the pool, his jaw dropped.

"That's not fair! A you played dirty! You cheated!!" Tony complained, climbing the ladder to get out.

"I posses an advantage that you do not," Loki smirked and pulled a drink out of the air.

"HEY!" Steve's voice came from the door to the pool. "No drinking! Don't make me call Bruce on you."

Loki pouted and Tony plucked the drink out his hands and tossed it back. 

"Area is clear of danger, Captain," Tony said, mock saluting.

Steve shook his head. "This is really nice Tony, you didn't have to do this for us."

"Course I did, Capsicle. You guys are practically family and deserved better then a cramped living floor. Besides now you and Thor don't have to be roommates anymore," Tony explained, grabbing a towel from the shelves. Loki had used his magic to dry himself off, but not Tony. That bastard.

Steve nodded his head in agreement. The perks outweighed the guilt, he supposed. "Nat wants to talk to you both, by the way. That's why I'm here. JARVIS said you guys were down here and I wanted to see what it looks like."

"Fair warning, Captain Rodgers, the water is rather chilly," Loki informed him.

"Duly noted."

Tony tossed his towel in the basket by the door. "Come on, Loks. Let's go see what Ms. Romanov wants."

Loki stood slowly, being very pregnant, at this point, made it hard to move fast. They both took the elevator to Natasha and Clint's floor. The doors dinged as it opened onto the floor that used to be the shared residence floor. Clint was assembling a baby bassinet in the living room of the floor when Loki and Tony appeared. 

"NAT! Tony's here," Clint called. "Tony, this is... this is wow. Thank you, man!"

"No problem. Having fun there?" Tony asked, seeing the archer trying to make sense of the instructions.

"Yeah sure," Clint mumbled, reaching for a screw.

"Hey!" Natasha called, coming out of a room. She'd grown bigger since they had last seen her. "Tony, thank you so much! I just wanted to say that in person. Also, if the both of you ever need help with anything just let us know. Like if you just want a date night, or whatever the hell you two do, let me know. The kids can have a play date or something."

"Thank you very much, Natasha," Loki said. "We will definitely be taking you up on that offer."

Nat grinned at Loki. The two had grown really close since this whole pregnancy thing had gone down. Tony and Clint both agreed that it was good. They needed someone who was going through the same things.

"We need to go out baby shopping for you guys soon, Loki," she told the trickster.

The two began discussing when to go shopping, and Tony plopped down beside Clint, giving him a hand with the bassinet.

After a few hours, Tony and Clint had successfully assembled the bassinet, the crib, a changing table, and a chest of drawers. All of which were moved into the babies room, while Loki and Natasha talked. Tony and Loki excused themselves shortly after the furniture was moved. They said their goodbyes and made their way back to the penthouse. 

Loki barely made it to the bed before he collapsed with exhaustion. Tony smiled fondly and hopped in the shower for a quick wash. When he returned, Loki was out like a light. Tony crawled into bed and curled up next to Loki, quickly succumbing to unconsciousness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey JARVIS," Steve began. "Where is everyone this morning?"

It was nearing 9 am and he hadn't heard a peep from anyone. That was strange, perhaps not for Tony, but for Natasha and Thor it was strange.

"They are all in the penthouse, sir," JARVIS informed the captain.

Steve had a quizzical look on his face as he made his way up to the penthouse floor. The first thing he noticed was the sudden chill in the air. He then heard laughter, who he assumed was Clint and Thor. When he opened the door, it was like walking into a winter wonderland. There was snow covering the entire floor and some still falling. Clint and Thor were lobbing snow balls at each other, while Natasha sat on the couch curled up in a blanket with a cup of coffee, taking to Bruce. Tony was sitting at the bar with, who he assumed was Loki, an arm wrapped around the frost giant's waist. Loki's pale skin was now a deep, royal blue, and his eyes were blood red. His hair was the same, except now he had little horns sticking out from the top of his head. If you looked long enough, you could recognize that it was Loki.

'Ah!' Steve thought. 'Loki has gone full frost giant on us now.' He nodded in Loki's direction. An acknowledgement of a judge free zone. Loki returned the gesture with a weak smile.

"FRESH MEAT!" Clint yelled out, as he spotted the captain.

The next thing Steve knew, he was hit in the face with a cold snow ball.

"You little," Steve mumbled, stooping to make a snow ball.

"YAY! The patriotic captain is on my side!" Thor bellowed. 

"What? No! I'm on no ones side," Steve explained, being hit in the face a few moments later with another snowball.

Tony and Loki chuckled from their spot in the bar stools at the scene laid out in front of them. Steve, standing their in shorts and a tee shirt, soaking wet with cold snow. Clint and Thor whispering to each other on how to get Steve involved. The good captain sighed and shook off the snow. He walked over to where Tony and Loki were sitting.

"Impressed yet?" Tony asked with a smirk.

"I think I owe Fury another $10," Steve confessed.

Tony snickered and turned back to watch the fight. Steve had his back to the room. Both Loki and Tony saw Thor and Clint coming behind him with a bucket of snow, but said nothing. Steve gasped as the snow was tossed into his back. 

"THATS IT!" he shouted, grabbing a handful of snow. "THIS IS WAR!"

"Success!" Clint cheered, running for cover.

The three men then entered a harsh battle of snowballs. Thor would later go on to tell it as one of his finest victories. If Clint could get his teeth to stop chattering, he would insist that he could've won, and Steve lost like the good sportsmen he is. 

"Told you he wouldn't care," Tony said to Loki, referring to Steve.

"I feel better now, about it. You all don't care. There's six of you in the nine realms that don't care about my heritage. I don't know why it means so much, but it really means a lot," Loki confessed, leaning his head on Tony's shoulder. 

"Everyone needs at least one person to not judge them, Loks," Tony whispered. "The seven of us, we all have each other. All of our pasts are shaded with some dark secret we aren't proud of. None of us have the right to judge anyone."

Loki made a noise of agreement and closed his eyes, dosing off. When he closed his eyes, images of the Chutari and the void flashed through his mind. It startled him awake again.

"You ok?" Tony asked worriedly.

"Fine," Loki whispered, closing his eyes and settling back on Tony's shoulder.

"I will find you, Little Prince, and I will kill you," an ominous voice echoed through Loki's mind.

Loki awoke again with a gasp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DUN DUN DUN!!!!!! the whole tesseract/Thanos/Chutari thing will be explained in the next chapter.
> 
> edit: in the beginning, when Frigga say LOKI STARK stark should be italicizes, but my iPad is being a bitch and I'm without my laptop for a bit. when I can get to it again I'll fix it. just picture her saying it with sass.


	20. Good Morning, Princess Erika

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH BOY! this chapter took me so long because  
> a.) I've been busy getting ready for school  
> b.) it's a long ass chapter  
> c.) I had a lot to cover In this long ass chapter.  
> d.) and I've been distracted by the impending Panic! at the Disco concert.
> 
> and with that I would like to announce we are officially 1/3 of the way through the story! whoo HOO yaaaas! the next two "parts" are going to be action packed and marvel phase two compliantish (I say compliantish because obviously Loki wasn't in iron man 3 and Tony wasn't in T:TDW but they both will be here AND Bucky will be introduced along with Sam (because Sam is a national treasure) once we get to Cap 2.)
> 
> whoa ok that was a lot! I'm excited for what's coming up next and I hope you guys enjoy this chapter :D
> 
> P.s. because my knowledge of marvel is greater then Norse mythology, Loki has no other children.

"What do you mean the Tesseract is after you?" Bruce asked, intrigued by the science here.

"Not only is the Tesseract an energy source but it can be given commands. Thanos, the mad titian leader of The Other and the Chutari, fed it commands then gave the cube to me," Loki explained, trying to calm himself. "Thanos is dead. The Other is dead. They died in the explosion after Anthony threw the nuke through the wormhole. I am sure of this, because I felt their connection snap." He looked at Clint. "I assume you did too?"

"There was this weight that lifted off my shoulders, but I just chucked it up to us winning," Clint confessed.

"The cube, however, will keep feeding the commands it was given to the original host, me. That's why Barton and Slevig are no longer affected," Loki told the group.

"What commands were given to the cube?" Steve asked.

Natasha and Tony sent him a look that said "do you really need to ask that?". Steve just shrugged.

"I don't know of their original commands, but the ones it fed to me were to destroy and to rule. For the most part, all of that is gone."

"Except when you have those blips and tear up the workshop," Tony interrupted.

Loki avoided his husbands gaze. He was ashamed of that night, but what could he do to stop it? "What remains are things the mad Titan said to me. What would happen to me should I fail."

"So who has the cube?" Bruce asked. "If we ask them to give it new commands, won't that stop the energy surges within Loki?"

"I have asked this question," Thor began. "My mother thinks that if Loki has enough episodes, the energy will eventually dissipate."

"But what if it doesn't, Thor," Loki hissed through clenched teeth. "These occurrences seem to be getting stronger, not weaker. What if Doctor Banner is right?"

Thor had no response. He wanted his brother's mental hell to end. He wanted Loki to get better, but he had to trust what he knew. He knew his mother was wise, and she would never lead them down the wrong path. Could there be a possibility that she was wrong?

"Will any of this energy affect Erika?" Natasha asked.

Loki looked to Tony, who shrugged and looked at Thor. Apparently no one knew.

"Hopefully not," Tony whispered.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The last few months of Loki's pregnancy went by fast. Bruce was his stand in doctor when Frigga and her midwives and healers couldn't come down. According to Bruce, Loki was on track and Erika looked very healthy. According to Frigga, who could give Loki an arrival date to the exact minute, Loki and Tony would be unable to attend Thor's wedding. Erika would be arriving that morning. Thor took the news as bitter sweet. He wanted his brother at his wedding, but he understood and wanted his little niece to be safe and healthy.

Erika was born the morning of the wedding, as Frigga predicted. She weighed a little over 6 pounds. A small baby she was, but she was adorable. The second Loki heard her cry, he fell in love with her. The second Tony laid eyes on her, he fell in love with her. 

She was Jötun at birth, as Frigga had suspected she would be, but as soon as she was wrapped up in a blanket, her skin became more like Tony's -not as pale as Loki's Aesir form. Loki almost cried. His little girl was a shapeshifter just like her father. He was so proud! 

She had dazzling blue eyes and tuffs of brown hair. No one could explain where the blue eyes came from. Bruce did the genetics, there was no possible way for her to have blue eyes. He did combinations on Loki's green and red eyes. No possible way. Frigga and Clint suspected it was the energy from the Tesseract that Loki still had in him. It had transferred over into his child. Neither of them said anything, however. Loki and Tony seemed not to care. She had Loki's smile and Tony's hair. They were on cloud nine. Loki didn't think it was possible to love something so much.

That was 5:00am. With the excitement of a new baby and a wedding in one day, sleep was long gone for The Avengers & Co. 

By the time the afternoon came around, and Darcy was running around with armfuls of Asgardian silks and ribbons looking for Jane, Loki and Erika had recovered enough to join in the fun. Thor was overjoyed that his brother could be there with him, giving Loki the job of best man. Tony wanted Loki and the baby to rest, but Frigga told him it would be ok, she was mistaken about recovery time. Erika was already a tough cookie, and her immortality was already working in her favor.

Jane and Thor had a beautiful hybrid of a Midgardian and an Asgardian wedding. Odin, of course, was the master of ceremonies. Jane was dressed in a beautiful sky blue Asgardian dress, as were her bridesmaids. Thor was wearing his traditional armor. Loki, also, was wearing his traditional armor. Steve was dressed in his uniform, while Tony, Bruce and Clint were wearing suits. Natasha was wearing the dress she wore to Tony and Loki's wedding. Pepper and Rhodey sat in the front row with little Erika.

Erik Selvig gave Jane away, he is the closest thing she had to a father. Darcy cried, Frigga cried, Tony made faces at his daughter, Pepper glared at Tony, and Odin was way too stoic about everything. 

After the wedding, once the reception started, Odin pulled Loki and Tony aside.

"Tomorrow morning, there will be a small ceremony for the both of you. Just an exchange of vows and nothing more. Thor and Frigga will be present as witness. Once it is done, you will be recognized as legally married and shame can no longer come to this family."

Loki snorted and Odin shot him a disapproving look. "Because I haven't brought this family enough shame, I went and had a child out of wedlock AND got married behind your back. Thor was always the favorite and look how proud you are of him."

Tony reached down and grabbed Loki's hand, giving him a supportive squeeze. Odin closed his eyes and sighed. He was becoming fed up with Loki's shit, to put it in Midgardian terms.

"Loki," Odin began. "I know you and I have our differences, but as Frigga and Thor keep reminding me, you are our son. You are Thor's brother. As long as majority rules, you will remain apart of this family, and will be treated as such. That means you must uphold the royalty standards."

Loki blinked back a tear. Only because Frigga and Thor? As long as majority ruled? Hate churned in his gut. Tony squeezed his hand again, and Loki took a deep breath. He had to remember who he was living for. He had a husband who loved him and a baby girl who needs him to teach her magic, and someone to teach her to love her Jötun self.

"Very well," Loki spat out and turned on his heels, dragging Tony away with him.

Loki was on a mission to get out of the room before the rest of his walls crumbled. Pepper spotted them leave, worry evident on her face. Tony mouthed to her to keep watching Erika for him. Pepper nodded and snuggled her goddaughter (it wasn't official yet, but Tony knew she had to be the godmother). Tony felt horrible. He had barely spent anytime with his baby girl, but right now, Loki needed him more then she did.

Once Loki had successfully dragged Tony to the outskirts of the palace, he plopped down on a stone bench and buried his face in his hands. Tony gently sat down next to his husband and wrapped his arms around Loki's shoulder. Sobs racked the trickster. Now matter how much time had passed, he would never forgive Odin. Everything in this realm hurt. Tony knew a little bit about jackass fathers, so he offered his shoulder. 

"I just..." Loki began, softly. "I just don't understand."

Tony buried his face in the crook of Loki's neck and rubbed his arms soothingly. Loki knew that Tony was here to listen, so he continued.

"He clearly doesn't care, so why does he insist on listening to Frigga and Thor? Why would it matter what they think? He is the Allfather. All I bring him is shame, so why does he keep trying?!" Loki questioned, looking up, angry tears running down his face. "Is this some kind of public humiliation?! As soon as we can, Anthony, we are going back to Midgard and I am never coming back here."

Tony, when Loki looked up, began placing soft kisses along Loki's jawline. Just a gentle reminder that he was still here, and that Tony still loved him. He stopped his trail when Loki said his name. "Ok, Loks. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do. We can move to Malibu and never leave, if you want."

Loki smiled down at his inventor, a single tear rolling down his cheek. "I'm fond of New York, perhaps a vacation in Malibu would be better. Besides, Natasha and I have to go baby shopping for her child."

Tony grinned. "There's the Loki I know! Why don't we spend the rest of the summer in New York, then when it starts to get colder, move out to Malibu?"

"I would like that."

"There we go! All settled!" Tony beamed at his trickster, wiping the last of his tears alway.

Quiet footsteps were heard, only by Loki, approaching. Loki looked up to see Natasha holding Erika in her arms. Tony spotted his daughter and grabbed her from Nat. He instantly began talking to her in that voice people use around babies.

"You guys are missing one hell of a party," she commented, nodding her head back to the palace.

Loki smiled softly at the widow and patted the seat next to him. "Thank you for bringing Erika out."

Nat sat down beside the god and looked at Tony, who was playing wit Erika's tiny toes. "No problem. Frigga did want me to tell you that when you and Tony take your vows, shes going to have a small ceremony for Erika. She wants the Avengers & Co. present. Something about being an Asgardian princess?"

That cold look returned to Loki's eyes. Frigga intended to welcome Erika into the house of Odin. Loki wouldn't stand for it.

"Loks?" Tony asked, looking up concerned.

"I will not stand for Erika being brought into the house of Odin," Loki said coldly.

Natasha face lit up with understanding. "Because you're a prince, that makes her a princess? I thought children of princes and princesses became duchesses and dukes."

"That something exclusive to Midgard. If Thor does not have children, Erika becomes next in line," Loki explained.

"Is that why Frigga said her name was worthy?" Tony asked, shifting Erika from one arm to the other. 

Loki held out his arms, wanting to hold his daughter. Tony handed her over. "Indeed. I would rather her not be brought into Asgard so soon. I think she should make that choice." Loki slowly began rocking Erika in his arms.

"I agree," Nat spoke up. "This is something big. If you no longer want anything to do with Asgard, because Odin is an asshat, then Erika shoulda be older when you explain why you hate her grandfather."

Tony's shoulder shook in silent laughter. "She called Odin an asshat."

Loki sighed exasperated at his husband and stood up. He gave Erika a kiss on her cheek and handed her back to Tony. "I'm going to talk to Frigga. I'll meet you inside?"

Tony nodded and watched Loki walk back inside the castle. Natasha and Tony sat in companionable silence as the party raged on inside. The cry of "ANOTHER!!" could be heard, followed by Jane shouting "THOR!!" Natasha smiled and shook her head. 

"Jane's got a handful with Thor," she commented.

Tony snorted, "Yeah. He's no longer our problem." Tony began to shed mock tears. "Our little boy is growing up, Nat!"

Erika cooed from Tony's arms and reached for his face. Natasha laughed lightly at the little girl. 

"She's too cute, Tony," she said softly.

"Yeah she is..." Tony trailed off. "But hey! You and Clint are going to have an equally adorable baby boy or girl. Do you know yet?"

"We want to be surprised," The widow told him.

"Oo surprise the spies! I want to play!" Tony joked. "What do you want it to be?"

"Honestly, I don't care," Natasha confessed. "I don't think Clint cares either. As long as they are healthy it doesn't matter to me."

Tony nodded thoughtfully, looking back down at Erika. Erika was begging for attention and began to pull on the front of Tony's jacket. 

"You are just like your father, you know that? Always needing to be the center of attention!" Tony told her, lifting her up. "What would you do if your twin had been born?" Erika giggled at her dad.

"Do you want more?" Natasha asked, raising an eyebrow.

"One's good for now. But maybe someday. We've got forever," Tony said, grinning at his friend.

"Lucky you," Natasha muttered.

"Did I hear something about more children?" a rugged voice came from behind them.

Natasha and Tony turned around in surprise. 

"Fandral, right?" Tony asked, cautious of the blonde. Erika grabbed for Tony's jacket again, and began to doze off.

Natasha looked equally on edge. While they worked with and were friends with Thor, the two were closer to Loki (ironic, right?). From stories he told the two, Fandral was someone they shouldn't trust right away. Well, not that they couldn't trust Fandral, but he was someone who toyed with Loki in his youth.

"The one and only," Fandral said, bowing with a flourish.

Natasha rolled her eyes and snatched a sleeping Erika from Tony's arms. Tony made a noise of protest but seeing Erika snuggle into Nat made him stop.

"I'm just going to put her in her bassinet," the widow told him. 

Tony nodded and watched the spy walk off with his little girl. 

"It was quite the excitement around here when Frigga told us, and by us I mean Odin and I overheard, that you and our mischievous prince were expecting," Fandral commented, sitting in the stop Natasha has just been.

"That so?" Tony asked, his voice dripping with lack of interest.

"Mhmm," Fandral said. "Tell me, how does it feel to be married to someone who study's a woman's craft?"

Tony heard the snap in his patience and he was pretty sure somewhere, something just exploded. 

"Look!" he spat. "I don't know exactly what kind of laws and social rules you have around here, but where I come from, anyone can do as they damn well please. Gender roles are bullshit! Loki's magic is amazing and it makes me sick that you all see it as shame brought to the House of Odin!" Tony stood. "Fucking Asgardian assholes," he muttered and stormed off to the palace.

Fandral sat in shock. He had not expected such an outburst from Tony Stark. He knew the mortal had a short temper, but he didn't realize how loyal Tony was to those he loved.

"Fandral, you look as though you have seen a ghost," Thor's voice came from behind him.

"I was just having a conversation with your brother-in-law," Fandral told him, slowly turning around. "He has a temper almost as short as our dear Loki's."

Thor chuckled, "I would not anger the metal man. He may be small in size but he would not hesitate to choke you with a um..." Thor was searching for the right term. He snapped his fingers. "A USB cord! I believe that is what they are called."

Fandral blinked once slowly at his friend. "A what?"

"It is a cord that connects a small machine to it's larger counterpart," Thor explained. "I have seen Tony and Natasha use them many times. Clint hates them because 'They never go in correctly and he ends up breaking them.'."

"Midgardians are strange," Fandral huffed. 

Thor raised an eyebrow at the warrior. "Careful how you speak. The future queen of Asgard is now a Midgardian."

"You're right. Apologies my friend," Fandral said, clapping a hand on Thor's shoulder. He stood and left.

Thor sat on the bench for a few minutes in thought, enjoying the silence. Eventually, he rejoined the party.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Tony came back to his and Loki's chamber, he noticed the door was slightly ajar.

"Loki?" he asked cautiously, opening the door further and sticking his head in.

The room was a mess. Clothing, blankets, and pillows were thrown everywhere. The curtains were torn off of their rods and the dressers were swept clean of their trinkets. Loki sat in the middle of the chaos, his hair a wild curly mess, on the stripped bed. Natasha stood in the corner, rocking Erika in her arms.

"Uhh?" Tony asked, unsure of what had happened.

Loki looked up at his husband with a dark glare. "What happened? You want to know what happened?" His voice was dipping dangerously low and cruel.

"Who wants to go visit Uncle Clint and Uncle Brucie!" Natasha suddenly spoke up, obviously talking to Erika. The little princess giggled and grabbed onto Natasha's hair. "We do! Yes we do!" the widow cooed and smoothly left the room.

"Why does that woman keep walking off with my child?" Tony questioned aloud. He turned around and definitely did NOT scream like a little girl when he saw that Loki was in his face with a cruel grin.

"Hello Anthony," Loki purred dangerously.

"Hi Loki," Tony squeaked. "So um, how's mom?"

An angry growl left Loki's throat and he threw himself back on the bed. He began to punch the mattress with rage. Tony's eyes widened in alarm and he rushed over to Loki's side.

"Babe, babe, calm down," Tony soothed, climbing onto the bed. He grabbed Loki's hands and intertwined their fingers. Loki's eyes were crazy with rage. Tony turned him over onto his back and sat on top of him. 

"Let me go!" Loki raged, trying to shake Tony's hands from his own.

"Nope. No can do, because listen up, Snowflake," Tony told him.

"What did you just call me?!" Loki roared, still trying to shake Tony off.

"Look! We've both been through a lot today! Baby being born, Thor's wedding, NATASHA RUNNING OF WITH OUR CHILD FOR AT LEAST THE SECOND TIME, all this crap with Odin and Frigga. It's been a stressful day. We've barely had anytime to breathe, I don't know about you but I've had Erika for all of 20 minutes maybe today. This her first day, and her own fathers have seen less of her then they should. Does that seem right to you?" Tony explained, stretching out over Loki to pin him more.

Loki sighed and gave up fighting his husband. His head hit the bed with a soft thump. Tony reached up and began to place small kisses along Loki's throat.

"I don't want Erika raised with the promise of a throne she may not get. Odin is acting like Thor will never have children and Erika will be the successor. I've seen the way Thor looks at Jane. I would be surprised if they do not have children," Loki explained. "This doesn't forgive my actions tonight, I understand, but everything came flooding back. I don't want our daughter to go through what I went through."

Tony stopped his actions and laid his head on his tricksters chest. "Everything's going to be ok, Loks. We are the ones raising Erika. Not Odin, not Frigga, or anyone else. She won't go through the crap we went through because we've grown from it. She is the Phoenix that rose from our ashes."

"That's oddly poetic of you," Loki commented, raising an eyebrow.

"Prolonged exposure to Asgard has made me go mad," Tony shrugged and Loki barked out a laugh.

The two lay in silence for a few more minutes, enjoying the silence and trying to relax. It was Loki who finally broke the silence.

"I'm going to go get Erika back from our dark Widow," Loki announced and rolled off the bed.

Tony clasped his hands together and held them beside his face and exclaimed, "My hero!"

Loki hurled a pillow at Tony's face. Both men started laughing hysterically. Loki moved his hand across the room and everything was put back as it should be. Tony looked around the room in awe, and when he looked down at the bed it was already made. Loki had also quietly slipped out. Tony laid down on the mattress and curled around a long body pillow and waited for Loki to return.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony awoke to the sounds of soft footsteps moving around the room and a baby making baby sounds. There was no other way to describe the sounds his daughter made besides baby sounds. Tony had heard Erika cry only once, the minute she was born. After that she'd had been talkative with little coos and ooos and awes. Tony sat up and saw Loki walking around the room, carefully rocking the attention seeking little girl in his arms. A warm smile crept across the iron man's face at the sight. Despite both their lack of experience, Loki took to parenting almost naturally. Tony cleared his throat and Loki whipped his head around.

"I didn't hear you get up," Loki confessed, walking over to sit on the edge of the bed.

Tony held out his arms, wanting to hold Erika. Loki carefully placed her in his husband's arms. "I just woke up," Tony told him. "How long have you been awake?"

"Oh, about an hour. I came back and found you sound asleep. So, I put Erika to sleep and I went to sleep myself. She woke up, hungry, about an hour ago," Loki whispered, climbing into bed beside Tony.

"What do little half Midgardian half Jötun princesses eat?" Tony asked, feeling horrible that he didn't know this little piece of information.

"Just some standard Midgardian formula," Loki shrugged. "Mother said she would probably be more like you in her tastes of foods and what her stomach can handle. If we are to live mostly on Midgard too, we should stick to what they use. Right now, Erika is a bit of a chameleon. She can change her form depending on environment."

Tony looked up, amazed by that. Loki scowled. He knew exactly what Tony was about to ask.

"No you may not purposely put our daughter in the freezer to see her change form," Loki growled.

Tony gasped, shocked. "I wouldn't put her in the freezer! Maybe just drop a little cold water on her leg."

"Tony," Loki warned.

"Right! No science experiments on the baby," Tony promised, holding up two fingers like a Boy Scout salute.

There was a knock on their door just then. 

"Come in," Loki called out.

Jane and Sif walked in, both smiling and laughing about something. Tony and Loki rose and eyebrow at one another. The last they had heard, the two had been rather cold to one another.

"Frigga needs to see Erika and you two need to see Odin," Jane told them between giggles.

Tony and Loki let out twin sighs. "Ok," Tony told them.

The pair of giggling girls left the room, and Loki stood to get dressed.

"Might as well get this show on the road," Loki mumbled.

Tony stood up, set Erika in her bassinet, and stood behind Loki, wrapping an arm around his waist. "Hey," he said. "Everything will be fine. We are the ones raising Erika, and she will be fine. Trust me, and trust yourself."

Loki nodded and leaned back against Tony. He was still so worried about his daughter. What if Frigga and Odin still managed to imprint the idea of ruling onto Erika? What if the reason for her blue eyes was the Tesseract? What if Erika was destined to be as crazy as her father? Loki felt so hopeless, but Tony standing beside him gave him a little bit of comfort. He was right, after all. They were the parents. Maybe everything would turn out just fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do have to apologize, because I know jack shit about kids. They are cute in theory but I honestly want nothing to do with them. (so why did I write an mpreg? because Tony and Loki with children is something I needed).
> 
> anyway. again sorry for any mistakes about little peoples I'm going off of what my cousins have told me from raising their kids and what I've seen them do!
> 
> also the plot of this story, so far, has been about Erika and Tony and Loki. that line is going to take a back burner soon because everything I have planned is coming to surface. also, I love symbolism, so color is very important in this story. 
> 
> next chapter is taking a bit of a time jump (maybe a month of two)
> 
> :D


	21. Ruled by Secrecy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry that you've had to wait more then a week for an update, but life got insane! (I had four back to back sleepovers last week. my sleep and creativity suffered greatly).
> 
> anyway! Yes! The story's summery changed! When i had first started writing this story I had originally thought the story was going to be centered around Loki, Tony, and Erika. But as the story spun on, my friend who has been helping me edit it suggested i give it an actual plot. annnnnd i like dark things. so im not as sorry as i should be. 
> 
> This is the chapter where the character death applies. It's honestly not a gruesome or violent death. (well in theory its violent but i dont go into detail).
> 
> so... i wish that i was sorry, but unfortunately i am not :/ 
> 
> Enjoy my little cliffhanger :D
> 
> P.S. Chapter titled inspired by the Muse song that shares the same title
> 
> P.S.S. this chapter was really dramatic and a blast to write

Tony was on the phone with Happy when it happened. Loki was in the baby's room, changing Erika, when he heard an explosion so loud he thought Tony had gone deaf. Steve and Bruce were talking over a cup of coffee when JARVIS locked down the tower. Natasha and Clint were just pulling into the garage when people from Tony's personal security staff escorted them up to their floor. Thor was still on his honey moon with Jane, but Jane got a call on her cell and some S.H.I.E.L.D. agents moved them to a safe location. 

 

Tony dropped everything and ran down the communal floor. Cap and Bruce where already at alert when Tony came flying into the room. Tony called Fury, who told the Iron Man that they had seen the explosion on their surveillance cams. Tony ignored the voice in the back of his head telling him that no one could've survived that. JARVIS was piling information on the side of the communal floor's holo screen, when Loki had appeared next to Tony. He was doubled over and starting to crackle blue. Bruce's eyes widened and jumped to action, quickly escorting Loki to the safe room. Cap wanted to follow, but Bruce waved him off. Tony felt a little safer knowing the doctor would be watching over Loki.

 

A few minutes passed and the sky rolled dark. JARVIS alerted Tony to the safe arrival of Natasha and Clint, and Cap offered to check on them. A few minutes later and a clap of thunder came.

 

"Your late, Point Break," Tony muttered, sorting through information with Fury.

 

"Director," Thor acknowledged, then turned to Tony. "Where is my brother?"

 

"Basement safe room," Tony said automatically, barely catching Thor's horrified expression. "He's fine Bruce is with him."

 

Thor nodded and hopped on the elevator. The team had an emergency protocol. If Tony and Loki were otherwise engaged, Thor was on baby duty. 

 

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Tony asked Fury.

 

"I wouldn't believe it unless I saw it, and I'm looking right at it," Fury mumbled. "HILL! Can we zoom in?" he called over his shoulder.

 

The satellite image zoomed in and everything around Tony stopped. Where the main office building of Stark Industries used to be, was now a large pile of ash. 

 

"Pepper," Tony quietly breathed. 

 

The elevator dinged and Thor walked out. He was feeding Erika, a smile stretching across his face. In the background S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were running around yelling orders and protocols. Fury was trying to snap Tony out of his stupor and Thor was trying to maintain his happy face for his niece. 

 

"Stark? Stark?! STARK!!" Fury bellowed. "Thor, help me out."

 

Thor walked over, still smiling, and tapped Tony on his shoulder. The present caught up with Tony and he started to go into an anxiety attack.

 

'Damn when was the last time I had one of these?' Tony thought as he collapsed onto the floor, his legs automatically crossing Indian style beneath him. He buried his face in his hands, and tried to take some deep calming breaths.

 

"I have called Doctor Banner," JARVIS told no one in particular. 

 

"Get the Captain, JARVIS. Tell him to watch over my brother," Thor instructed.

 

"Where is Loki?" Fury asked, realizing the god wasn't present.

 

"Basement," Tony choked out, trying to breathe.

 

"Tony?!" Bruce called, coming off of the elevator. "What happened?"

 

"He's having an anxiety attack, Doctor," Fury supplied.

 

"Tony? Tell me what happened," Bruce gently commanded.

 

"Pepper," was the only thing Tony could say. He was in so much shock. His best friend for countless years was gone like she was just a speck of dust. He was in too much pain for rage. He would let Loki rage. Loki liked Pepper...

 

"Tony look at me," Bruce's voice brought him out of his thoughts. "Hey," Bruce smiled when Tony looked up. "What do you need?"

 

"I need Loki," Tony said in a really small voice. He looked small.

 

Thor and Bruce shared a look.

 

"JARVIS how does my brother fair?" Thor asked the AI.

 

"Mr. Stark is recovering from a Tesseract episode. He should be ok in a few minutes," JARVIS told them.

 

"Ok. Tony can you stand up? Do you wanna take a trip down to Loki?" Bruce asked, holding out his hand.

 

Tony nodded and let Bruce help him up. Tony spotted Erika from Thor's arms. She looked at her dad with wide eyes, not sure whether to laugh or cry. Tony smiled and picked up his baby girl. Erika giggled and snuggled into her dad.

 

Once Bruce, Tony and Erika were on the elevator, Thor turned to Fury.

 

"What's the likelihood of Pepper's survival?" He asked.

 

Fury sighed and scratched his head. "Really slim. Tony worked that out faster then we did or else I would've stopped the image."

 

Thor nodded and turned to look at the elevator. "What will become of his company?"

 

"He'll probably have to take it over again," Fury commented.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Once Tony and Erika landed on Loki's floor, Loki was walking out of the safe room. He was rubbing his head and his eyes were starting to fade back to green.

 

"Tony," Loki whispered upon seeing his husband's face. 

 

Tony came over to Loki and laid his head on Loki's chest. Erika had her head on Tony's shoulder and was beginning to dose off. Loki wrapped his arms around his two favorite people and held them. Cap nodded to Bruce and they both went back upstairs, giving the couple their space. 

 

"What happened?" Loki asked, once Tony's sobs had slightly quieted.

 

"I don't know," Tony confessed. "Happy was giving me the weekly security report when there was an explosion. Pepper was meeting with Jim. Fury showed me what was left of the building. Loki, there's nothing but a pile of ash. Pepper, Happy, Jim... they're all gone."

 

Loki didn't even bother to say "you don't know that!" because there was no way anyone could've survived something like that. Instead he just held Tony. Right now, Tony needed an anchor, and Loki was more then happy to be that anchor.

 

"I don't want to go back to being in charge," Tony sobbed out after a while. "I hated it! That's why I gave the job to Pepper! Now I'm going to have to give up the avengers and go back to being Howard's pride and joy."

 

"Couldn't you sell your company?" Loki inquired, moving them to sit against a wall. Erika shifted slightly when Tony sat, but quickly went back to sleep.

 

"No! That's not an option. I sell it and they go back to weapons. We are more then that," Tony said harshly. 

 

Loki nodded in understanding, and leaned Tony's head against his shoulder. "Everything will be ok, my love. This will work itself out. Pepper and Happy will not have died in vain."

 

Tony sniffled and buried his face in his husbands shoulder. He wanted to get drunk and drown himself in sorrow, but he couldn't. For Loki and Erika's sake, he couldn't do that. Instead he settled for some sleeping pills and a cup of herbal tea. Within the hour, Tony was passed out in his bed. Loki tucked the blankets and pillows around his husband, making him as comfortable as possible, and climbed in next to him. Loki threw and arm over Tony's waist and snuggled into the back of him.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

"Excellent work, my little prince!" a dark voice whispered in Loki's dreams. "Now a position of power presents itself to you! You will seize this position and take what has always rightfully been yours."

 

Loki awoke with a gasp, finding himself panting and covered in sweat. He looked over at Tony, who was still fast asleep. Loki sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed his temples. The words echoed in his head. 

 

_"Excellent work, my little prince!"_

 

Loki drew a shaky breath. 

 

_"Excellent work!"_

 

Loki stood and stumbled to the bathroom.

 

_"Excellent!"_

 

He flicked on the light switch in the master bath.

 

_"Work!"_

 

He looked into the mirror and nearly cried out in horror at the sight before him. Patches of Jötun and Aesir skin freckled his body. His eyes were shifting between red, green, and blue. He had dark circles under his shifting eyes. He looked like he had been throughly tortured. There were lashes all along his arms and down his chest. His throat held the marks of a choke hold. What was happening to him?!

 

_"Excellent work, my little prince!"_

 

Loki turned on the shower and set it to the coldest possible temperature before stepping in. As soon as the icy water hit his skin, the pale began to fade and the blue came back. He could see in the chrome reflections of the shower head, that his eyes were beginning to stay red. He would rather be in his Jötun form then a sickly hybrid of the Tesseract and his glamour. 

 

After a good thirty minutes had passed he shut the water off and reached for a towel. As he dried off and his skin temperature regulated, his glamour came back. There was no sign of the Tesseract, to which Loki released a sigh of breath. He padded out to the bed room and climbed back into bed. Once snuggled down a thought occurred to him.

 

'Is it my fault that Pepper is dead?!'

 

_"Excellent work, my little prince! Now a position of power presents itself to you!"_

 

Loki let out a scream of horror and his world went dark.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's after 12:30 am and im trying to remember any other side notes i had for you guys...
> 
> oh! rather important! i start school on monday, so idk how often i'll be able to update after this. Im praying to the writing gods that i will have time (ive only got one class on tuesday so heres hoping). im not sure i can squeeze another chapter out of this week but i will try. ive finally gotten to the exciting parts of this story and i will NOT give up on it!
> 
> ok i need to get sleep im rambling!
> 
> <3
> 
> P.S. possible jump to thanksgiving and the arrival of baby Alex Romanov in the next chapter, and of course the whole Pepper situation will be figured out. :)


	22. The Man With The Key Is King

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MY GOD I AM SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SORRY THAT THIS IS ALMOST TWO MONTHS LATER I REALLY REALLY AM!!!!  
> College was a shock to the system and holy shit I am so sorry.  
> But good news! schools beginning to even out so YAAAAAY MORE UPDATES!!! and I promise I will!  
> So enjoy this short little chapter (sorry it's so short too.)
> 
> <3 Enjoy!

Chapter 22: The Man With The Key Is King

When Loki awoke, Tony was looking at him with wide, scared eyes. The sun was pouting into the room. That's when Loki noticed he wasn't in their bedroom anymore, he was in the living room of the penthouse. Loki sat up and looked around. Bruce had been typing something on a StarkPad, but looked up and smiled at Loki. The others were no where to be found.

"Good morning, Loki," Bruce greeted.

Loki nodded in acknowledgement at the doctor. He couldn't meet Tony's eyes. He felt an overwhelming amount of guilt. It was his fault that Pepper was dead, and he didn't even know how he did it!

"What happened last night?" Tony finally asked.

Loki's breath caught and he looked up at Tony, then quickly looked away.

"I had a nightmere," Loki said. It wasn't a lie, he'd woken up in a panic.

"What else?" Tony pressed, knowing that Loki was keeping something from him.

Loki couldn't stand the pitiful look that his husband was giving him. Tony had just lost his best friend and he felt like he was loosing Loki too.

Loki took a deep breath. "I woke up and went into the bathroom. When I looked in the mirror, my skin was a sick hybrid of my Jötun form and my Aesir glamour. My eyes were shifting between red, green, and blue. I was panicking, so I took an icy shower and that balanced it out."

Bruce, from his chair, nodded and took some notes on the pad. Tony came and sat beside Loki. 

"What else happened?" Tony asked again. "You screamed like someone was killing you, then you passed out."

Loki opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it. Tony couldn't know. He couldn't. It would crush him. Hell, it was nearly killing Loki. He had to quickly think of a lie.

"There was a bit more Tesseract left and it spasmed. The pain was so great it caused me to cry out and pass out," Loki lied.

Bruce seemed satisfied with the answer, but Tony knew that Loki was hiding something. He would get it out of the god eventually.

"Well," Bruce said, slipping his pad under his arm and standing. "Let's hope that was the last episode for a while!" He patted Loki on the shoulder as he walked out of the room.

Once Bruce had left, Loki stood. "I need to go visit my mother," he told Tony quickly and quietly.

Tony reached out and grabbed Loki's arm, pulling him back to the couch. Loki fell back with a plop and Tony pushed him to lie down.

"What really happened?" Tony asked, his eyes searching Loki's face for an answer.

'Damn,' Loki thought.

"Tony," Loki began, cupping his face with one hand. "I cannot tell you right now. I need to speak with my mother. This was different. This was two episodes in one day."

Tony nodded and loosened his grip on the trickster, but laid on his chest instead. "I'm worried about you," Tony confessed.

Loki smiled slightly and ran a had through the Iron Man's hair. "Me too."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Loki had gone up to Asgard a few hours later. With nothing to do, and no tall god to distract Tony, the events of yesterday caught up with him. He sat on the couch and quietly cried for hours. Everything hurt. He still had no idea what to do about the company. Fury was nice enough to let S.H.I.E.L.D. release a formal statement on his behalf. The statement asked for space and time. Tony would work out all of the company problems once it stopped hurting. It felt like it would never stop, however.

Around noon, Thor came up to check on Tony. Apparently, Bruce had taken Erika before he had gone back down stairs. The little princess was begging for attention and her fathers were too distracted. When the elevator dinged and Thor stepped off, he had Erika. Tony heard the tiny baby noises and turned around. He smiled, despite his tears. 

"Hey," Tony croaked.

"Good Afternoon, Tony!" Thor bellowed. "Where is Erika's food kept?"

Tony wiped away his tears. "The cabinet closest to the fridge, second shelf."

Thor quickly located the powder and followed the directions for mixing it. Tony quietly padded over to the thunderer and took Erika from his arms.

"Hey, Baby Girl!" Tony whispered, rocking Erika slowly in his arms.

Erika cooed from his arms and grabbed at his facial hair.

"How are you today, my friend?" Thor asked, shaking up the bottle of formula.

Tony sighed, "Honestly, I'm not doing so good. Loki left for Asgard and everything from yesterday is catching up to me." He paused, choking back a sob. "They, uh, they found Pepper's body last night."

Thor handed a grabby Erika her bottle, and laid a comforting hand on the inventor's shoulder. "I am so sorry, Tony. You say my brother went to Asgard?"

Tony nodded and swallowed the lump rising in his throat. "Yeah, uh, he left this morning. He had another tesseract attack last night. I woke up to find him passed out in the bathroom. He said he needed to talk to Frigga."

"Two episodes in one day? That is troubling news," Thor commented, thinking.

"Mhmm. If you find anything out can you let me know? I'm worried about him," Tony asked.

"Of course! Would you like me to watch Erika today?" Thor offered, holding out his arms.

"No, it's ok. I need to spend time with her," Tony told the thunderer, holding up the bottle for his baby.

Thor nodded and left, and Tony returned to the couch. Tony drew a deep breath and smoothed back Erika's hair as she drank.

"What's happening to us?" he whispered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The Tesseract made you kill the Lady Pepper?" Frigga asked, opening an old dusty book.

Her and Loki were tucked away in their corner of the royal library with stacks of books surrounding them. Loki had told Frigga everything, knowing she wouldn't tell a soul and knowing that she'll be able to help him.

"That's what I believe, but I don't know how," Loki confessed, running a hand through his hair. 

"Have you told Anthony?" Frigga asked, grabbed her adopted son's hand.

"No. He mustn't know, the truth would destroy him," Loki whispered.

"He's going to have to know eventually," Frigga said cautiously.

"NO!" Loki snapped. "That's the end of this discussion." He slammed a book shut and stood.

"Loki, wait," Frigga pleaded, grabbing his arm. "What are you going to do about what the Tesseract told you? About a seat of power?"

Loki took a deep breath and ran his free hand over his face. "If Tony offers me a position in his company, I will refuse it."

Frigga smiled at her son. "Good. That's the right choice."

Loki nodded and left the library to return home. Frigga waited until he was off world before she talked to Heimdal about something.

Loki had just left when Frigga materialized beside Heimdal.

"Hello, My Queen," Heimdal greeted, not phased by the surprise.

"Keep an extra eye on Loki," she commanded. "Let me be the first to know if he takes Stark's offer."

Heimdal nodded and Frigga disappeared back to the castle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"HOLY SHIT LO!" Tony screeched as Loki zapped in next to his husband. 

Asgardian burn marks were left on the new penthouse floor. Loki looked at them with disgust. 

"Heimdal usually drops me off on the Helipad...." Loki commented looking around. He spotted Erika from Tony's arms and snatched her up. "Hello my princess! How are we today!"

"Hi honey, it's nice to see you too," Tony mumbled sarcastically.

Loki smirked and placed a kiss on Tony's cheek. "Hello, Darling."

Loki took Erika and sat on the couch. Tony came over and was bouncing on the balls of his feet in front of Loki.

"Can I help you?" Loki inquired, giving on of his fingers to Erika to hold onto.

"I was thinking," Tony began. "Since I'm gunna need a new CEO, who better then you! You knew just as much as Pepper because she always came to you before she came to me."

Loki drew in a sharp breath. He knew this was coming. "Tony, I cannot."

Hurt flashed across Tony's eyes before he knelt before his god and grabbed his free hand. "Lo, I can't go back to being in charge. I really can't. Please?"

Loki's heart broke a little at his husband's confession. But he still couldn't take the offer.

"Tony I really," he began.

"Why not?" Tony interrupted. "Are you afraid the power will go to your head and you'll try to take over the world again? Well guess what, cupcake, I wont let that happen. We can do this together. Please? I'm on my knees begging here."

Loki looked at his husband and sighed. "Fine. We'll do this together."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title inspired by a quote by Jim Moriarty from BBC Sherlock. :)


	23. We Give Thanks For Alex

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SO SORRY FOR THE WAIT!!!  
> (and the name change! i hope you all find this! i didn't know if it would fuck with subscriptions, but i really wanted this name for a while now and i figured "fuck it, new year, new me")
> 
> winter isn't a good season for me. it leaves me feeling empty and cold and yeah im just not made for winter (living in the North East, you would think other wise but my soul must lie elsewhere).
> 
> anyway. HERE'S A HAPPY CHAPTER! YOU GET TO MEET ALEX YAY!!!! AND THANKSGIVING AND YAAAAY!!!!
> 
> ENJOY!  
> :D

 

Four Days Before Thanksgiving:

 

"Nat I'm going to need you to push."

 

"No! I want - god that hurts! I want Frigga here!"

 

"Loki! Where the fuck is your mom?!"

 

"She's on her way. Thor just left!"

 

"OW GOD FUCK THAT HURTS OH MY GOD!"

 

"YOU THINK THAT HURT YOU SON OF A BITCH?! HOW DO YOU THINK THE CONTRACTION FELT?!"

 

"Babe, I just wanna say, I'm so glad I passed out when Erika was born."

 

"Not now, Tony!"

 

"Aw, come on Brucie! A little joke never hurt."

 

"Anthony."

 

"GOD DAMNIT LOKI WHERE'S THOR AND FRIGGA?! TASHA IS KILLING MY HAND!!"

 

"They're coming! Storm's rolling in."

 

"THANK FUCK!"

 

"Where is Natasha?"

 

"Over here, Thor!"

 

"Might I interest you in a cup of tea, Queen Frigga?"

 

"JARVIS WHAT THE HELL?!"

 

"Anthony."

 

"Right. Fixing Jarvis. Good luck, Nat!"

 

"*swearing in Russian*"

 

"Ok, Natasha I need you to push."

 

"ARRRGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

 

"*baby crying*"

 

"Thor hand me that blanket."

 

"*thud*"

 

"Loki!"

 

"Here."

 

"Clint would you like to cut the umbilical cord?"

 

"Um billy what? *thud*"

 

"By the Norns! You are all Avengers!"

 

"Let - let Steve cut the cord. He's the godfather."

 

"Nat are you sure?"

 

"Cut the damn cord, Captain."

 

"Yes ma'am!"

 

"*amused laughter from Frigga*"

 

"What is the child's name?"

 

"Alex Taylor Romanova."

 

"Just Alex?"

 

"Just Alex."

 

Thanksgiving Day:

 

The Avengers and Co. began to gather round the dinner table as Steve was yelling at everyone to get out of his way, with the turkey in his hands. Tony was amusing Erika by having a pair of Iron Man gloves juggle some dinner rolls. Clint carried a sleepy Alex toward the high chair, and Bruce placed the last glass of wine down at Natasha's spot, as Thor entered the room with his parents and Jane.

 

"Thank you all for inviting us to share in Midgardian Fest with you," Frigga smiled brightly.

 

Odin nodded his head in agreement, taking his seat at the head of the table, opposite Steve. Clockwise from Odin, it went: Frigga, Thor, Jane, Coulson, Maria, Bruce, Steve, Natasha, Alex, Clint, Tony, Loki, Erika, and Fury. Fury would go to spend the rest of the night playing with baby Erika, but that's classified information.

 

"Captain," Odin began. "Would you care to start the feast?"

 

"Uh, sure. We generally started with prayer when I was a kid. I'm not sure now if that's appro-"

 

"Nonsense! Start the way it is traditionally started," Odin demanded.

 

"Okay," Steve bowed his head as everyone held hands. "Dear Heavenly Father, we are gathered here today for Thanksgiving. We welcome baby Erika and Alex to our family. We also mourn the losses of Pepper, Happy, and all those lost at Stark Industries."

 

Sniffles came from Tony. Loki withdrew his hand from Tony's and rubbed his husbands back comfortingly.

 

"We welcome the Christmas season with open arms, as we celebrate your son, Lord. We also look forward to a new year, with new beginnings, as Loki officially takes over Stark Industries in January."

 

"Oh?" Frigga said.

 

Loki cleared his throat, and Steve continued. "We thank you for the food, dear Lord, and we pray that you keep us all safe in our missions this coming year. In your name we pray, Amen."

 

"Beautifully said, Captain," Frigga praised.

 

"Let's eat!" Loki announced, before his mother could ask any questions about his new job.

 

"Bring in the mashed potatoes!" Clint announced like a battle cry.

 

Dinner came and went without issue. Odin and Frigga held pleasant conversation with everyone at the table. Erika made a mess of her mashed sweet potatoes, but it wasn't anything a little Loki magic couldn't fix. All in all, it was one of the most peaceful gatherings of the Avengers and Co. 

 

The evening brought pumpkin pie, Mario Cart Battles, storytelling of years past (mostly Thor and Loki's childhood), and championship drinking games. Steve drank Odin, Thor and Tony under the bar in the championship round. Natasha remained the Mario Cart champion after she finally pushed Loki off of rainbow road, and Clint ate an entire pie. 

 

The night drew to a close around 11, as Frigga and Odin departed back to Asgard. Maria, Coulson, and Fury left after a call from HQ. Something top secret had happened. Jane dragged Thor off to his room when she realized how wasted he was. Bruce and Steve excused themselves at midnight, almost falling asleep during the Charlie Brown special. Clint and Tony were passed out on the big couch, using each other as pillows.

 

"They look like a pair of mischievous brothers," Natasha commented, rocking Alex's bassinet with her foot.

 

Loki looked up from where Erika was in his arms, a soft smile crossing his lips. "They do."

 

A comfortable silence engulfed the two families, the only sounds to be heard were Snoopy making popcorn, and Tony snoring. The silence only lasted until Alex woke up.

 

"Shh. Shh, child," Nat whispered, picking up her baby. "You're going to wake Erika up! How about we get Daddy to come to bed?"

 

Natasha walked over to Clint, and grabbed him by the ear.

 

"Ow! Ow! OUCH WOMAN!" Clint exclaimed.

 

"Shh! You'll wake Erika!" Nat scolded, but it was too late, Alex began to cry. "See! Grab the bassinet. Goodnight, Loki."

 

Loki waves goodbye as Natasha walked toward the elevator, singing to Alex in Russian, Clint close behind. Once they left, Loki rose to put Erika to bed. He came back to the living room and sat beside Tony.

 

"Tony," he whispered, gently shaking his shoulders.

 

"Five more minutes, J."

 

Loki chuckled. "Darling, it's your husband."

 

"Husband? Loki?" Tony asked, turning over, barely opening his eyes. "Hey you, what's shaking bacon?"

 

"I'm going to sleep, would you care to join me."

 

"Babe, I'm too wa*hic*sted to have sex."

 

Another chuckle. "I assure you, I am too tired for that. I simply wish to rest."

 

Tony smiled sleepily and poked Loki in the shoulder. "Stop Loki'n' around." Tony immediately started laughing uncontrollably at his own joke. 

 

Loki shook his head and helped his husband to his feet. "My genius inventor. My mighty Avenger, brought down by three bottles of Asgardian mead. Truly, I am disappointed."

 

"I'd like to see you try next time," Tony slurred.

 

"Ah, but I would use magic to cheat. It would be stalemate between the good Captain and I."

 

"My god of lies," Tony mused, flopping down onto his pillow. 

 

"Yes, Darling. All yours," Loki placed a kiss on his forehead, and drew the covers over them. Jarvis dimmed the lights, soon both of them were fast asleep.

 

 

 

 

P.S. SUPER AMAZING SHOUTOUT AND THANK YOU TO MY LITTLE SISTER'S BEST FRIEND FOR MAKING ME A FABULOUS FAN ART/COVER OF THE STORY! (i believe she colored in the picture and added the text)

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you have your fill of good feels, because im shoving Iron Man 3 into the next couple of chapters. The movie based chapters will end happy, i promise.
> 
> <3 asgardiandrums

**Author's Note:**

> feel free to comment if I've messed something up, or if you like the story :)


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